Fun French Facts
France is the most visited country in the world: France was the first country to introduce the license plate with the passage of the the Paris Police Ordinance on August 14, 1893. There is a coffee shop in France where not saying "hello" and "please" makes your coffee more expensive. Potatoes were illegal in France between 1748 and 1772. During that time the French Parliament banned cultivation of this starchy vegetable as they were convinced potatoes caused leprosy. In France, you can legally marry a dead person. Louis XIX was king of France for just twenty minutes. Rising to the throne during a chaotic time The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Paris Exposition and was not intended to be permanent. The tower was going to be demolished in 1909, but was saved because it was repurposed as a giant radio antenna. Today the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in in the world. Approximately 7 million people visit this tourist attraction in Paris every year. |
The French Government gives medals to citizens who have "successfully raised several children with dignity." Three classes of medal exist: bronze for those raising four or five children, silver for parents of six or seven children, and gold for those with eight or more children. There is only one stop sign in the entire city of Paris. France uses 12 different time zones, the most of any country in the world. However, only one time zone is used in Metropolitan France, the others are for the numerous overseas territories. The oldest bridge in Paris, France is called "Pont Neuf," or "New Bridge." Napoleon Bonaparte was not short. He was actually above average height for a Frenchman. At the time of his death he was recorded to be almost 5 feet 7 inches tall, two inches taller than the average height for an adult French male at the time. The skeleton of the Statue of Liberty was designed by Gustav Eiffel, the engineer whose firm designed the Eiffel Tower. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, given to America in 1886 in honor of the centennial of Declaration of Independence. Prior to being delivered to the U.S., the head of the statue was displayed at the World's Fair in Paris in 1878. Fifty per cent of current English vocabulary is derived from French language. |