Inventions: photography, cinema, Interchangeable parts, binoculars, artificial cement, the metric system, the oboe, the mechanical metronome, food canning, mechanical printing, postcards, bicycles with pedals, first practical sewing machine, air-powered submarines, 1/x pressure cooker, periscopes, wingsuits, aspirin, the first widespread combustion engine, the camera phone, the parachute, the stethoscope, pencil sharpener, the hot air balloon, Braille, sign language, hair dryer, separation of powers (politics), 2/x

This meme is near the top of Reddit & gets shared a lot. The problem is that its completely misleading. France put the power plant there in an agreement with the Belgian government to provide Belgium with electricity. Also, the power plant saves thousands of Belgian lives. (1/4) An EU report found that 238,000 people in the EU & nearby countries died prematurely from constant inhalation of pollutants caused primarily by burning fossil fuels. Belgium suffers some of the worst air quality in Europe (2/4) voanews.com/a/air-pollutio….

irceline.be/news/environme…

Proto-Germanic runes used by Franks before their adoption of Latin script. The Lord's Prayer using Germanic runes in proto-Norse.

🧵 To those who ask, "Why are the French striking? In my country we retire later." (1) As in most countries, the COVID-19 pandemic saw the rich get richer & poor get poorer. The money is there to pay for retirement at 62 but only if the rich give up their pandemic wealth. (2) Inequality is a major issue. As in nearly all countries, your birth determines what class you will live in for the rest of your life. The fact that France is the worst country in the world for ultra-rich wealth inheritance is at odds with its ideology of egalitarianism.

A sculpture by Kehinde Wiley at the Musée d'Orsay, 2022. With more advanced tools sculptors have more ability to create than ever before, but the human form has been done so many times that modern artists try new things. I am convinced this account knows 0 about art.

https://twitter.com/Culture_Crit/status/1635740138243325971

There are art studios all over the world. If you go to any foundry that makes sculptures you can see stunning realistic sculptures. Here are some I took from a visit to the bronze foundry in Joseph, Oregon, USA. Casts from artists' molds.

There are some great untranslatable words in French. For example 'Parisianisme' For non-French speakers: it's the city of Paris as an 'ism'. Basically meaning Paris-centric. Literally: 'Parisism.'

There's been a lot of discussion about how 1/2 of the French team has African ancestry but almost nothing on how 0 Argentinian players have indigenous ancestry. If people want to have a discussion about representation in sports it needs to be honest not just anti-black 1/4 I am not dissing Argentina at all. Quite the opposite. I am happy for them as a country, as a team & for everyone's favorite, Messi. And I consider every Argentinian player to be 100% Argentinian. Just as the French players are all 100% French. Because that's how it works. 2/4

"I was born in France, grew up in France, France gave me everything. And I try to pay it back every time I play for the national team. I think my love for France no longer needs to be proven."

-Kylian Mbappé, footballer for Paris Saint-Germain & the France national team

https://twitter.com/markgranza/status/1604563793182343168

I've never heard any French player express such love for France as Mbappé. If you think he can't love France because of the color of his skin then you are racist. All the players pictured were born, raised, educated & live in France. Judging individuals by ethnicity is prejudice.

Running a large social media account we have countless intelligent, kind history fans from all over the world. We also have run into our fair share of absolute crazies. Here's a thread of the funniest crazies I've dealt with over the past 4 years. 🧵 An American tries to smack-talk France about something France is doing better at than the US (circa 2019)

In 1940 Mussolini ordered the invasion of Greece. The Italians had superior numbers & arms but the soldiers were utterly demotivated as they viewed the Greeks as brothers. They understood the war was just for their leader's ego. Meanwhile the Greeks fought like heroes & won. In 1941, the Germans entered the war and occupied Greece. The Greeks could not stand up to the combined might of Nazi Germany and Italy. But in the end, Nazi Germany fell and Greece remains.

Eugène Poubelle was the Prefect of the Seine 1883-1896. In 1884 he decreed that all buildings must have cans to collect waste. His policies significantly cleaned up Paris, popularizing garbage cans around the world. Today 'poubelle' means 'trash can' in French. His mandate that all buildings have garbage cans was unpopular with building owners who did not want to pay. Garbage pickers attacked Poubelle, claiming that his cleaning services removed trash from Paris and were an assault on their livelihoods.

/1 "France gave up in 1940" is a persistent myth for those who don't take into account longer historical trends. France was the one great power that opposed German aggression from 1920-1939. The other 3 great powers, UK, USSR & US realized Germany was powerful & wanted to ally it /2 The UK pursued a policy of appeasement, in the 1920s USSR illegally produced weapons for it in exchange for technical expertise then partitioned Poland with it, while policymakers in D.C. & financiers on Wall Street supported Hitler to prevent a communist revolution.

1/10 #OTD 1769 Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, France to a minor Italian noble family. In the tumultuous Revolutionary Era Napoleon rapidly ascended from his position as an artillery officer to general. Napoleon won a series of stunning victories against Austria 2/10 in Italy & set up sister republics (against the will of the French state).

Napoleon launched the coup of '18 Brumaire' in 1799 & became 'First Consul Bonaparte.' Successive military victories skyrocketed his popularity and he declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804.