zlacker

Not a Brit, but Terry Pratchett's ritual of the Other Jacket told me all I need to know.

https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/71416/tradition-go...

>>xg15+(OP)
> Here is an example of how mindless adherence to tradition can get a bit weird and very funny

See also; the King's Remembrancer and the Quit Rent Ceremony and the Trial of the Pyx:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Remembrancer

It is truly strange how my country can create a political and cultural operating system that allows this stuff to just go on and on for almost 800 years, right up to now.

>>andyjo+U3
> The King's Remembrancer swears in a jury of 26 Goldsmiths who then count, weigh and otherwise measure a sample of 88,000 gold coins produced by the Royal Mint.

I mean, you have to admire the stamina for that.

>>xg15+(OP)
a) GNU Terry Pratchett

b) In case you are one of today's Lucky Ten Thousand, this is a reference to the real-life Ceremony Of The Keys[1]

[0] https://xkcd.com/1053/ [1] https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/t...

>>scubbo+Jp
GNU Terry Pratchett

And yeah, I knew about the Ceremony of the Keys, but not the details. Didn't know it really has that kind of scripted dialogue that Pratchett parodied there.