Until 1976, what were London taxis required by law to have in their cab at all times?
Answer: A bale of hay. Harking back to the era of horse drawn-carriages, the London Hackney Carriage Act 1831 stipulated that such a bale was to be kept in the boot to feed the horses. The clause was only removed 145 years later.
Source: The Strange Laws of Old England by Nigel Cawthorne