Do you know that…
the unofficial national flowers of France are blue, white and red. They are: the cornflower, daisy and poppy – le bleuet, la marguerite et le coquelicot.
French was officialized as the language of France by an addendum to the constitution only in 1992.
to French kiss is “rouler une pelle”
a French letter or tickler is a “capote anglaise”
a French horn is a “cor d’harmonie”
a French window is a “porte-fenêtre”
French fries are “les frites”
French dressing is “vinaigrette”
French toast is “pain perdu”
the French Riviera is “La côte d’Azur”
Voltaire’s tomb is in the Pantheon, but his heart is inside a metal box in the base of the statue by Houdon in the National Library. The box is inscribed with: “His heart is here but his spirit is everywhere.”
in French “risqué” and “promiscuité” do not refer to sex.
Le France is a cruise ship and La France is the country.
joke about why the French only eat one egg is the morning? Because one egg is “un oeuf”. (Very punny!)
joke about what happens when you throw a grenade into a French kitchen? You get linoleum blown apart! (there’s an emperor in there!)
there are town names in France that will make an English speaker giggle: Condom, Anus, Tendon, Ars, Seix, Grouchy, Brainville, Bust, Rye, Cudos, Rancon, Le Bugue and Y. And how about these for French laughs (say them outloud): Trécon, Conas, Verdelais, Marans, Achiet-le-Grand, Arnac-la-Poste, Corps-Nuds, Le Déluge, Bellebrune, Bidon, Plaisir.
there were two cats who swam a race across the English Channel? The French cat was named “un deux trois cat” and the British, “one two three cat”. Which cat won the race? The British cat, because everyone knows that un deux trois cat cinq.
mainland France’s hexagonal form fits in a circle 1000km in diameter. No point is more than 500km from the coast (which is no great boast in comparison to England where one is never more than 70 miles from the sea).
the etymology of the phrase “Ca va?” goes back to the Middle Ages? It is probably a shortened version of “comment ça va (or comment allez-vous)… à la selle?” Bowel movements being the principle gauge of health at the time. How do you “do”?
France has 5 mountains ranges, 13 regions, 43 World Heritage sites, 101 departments, 677 members of parliament, 1243 museums and more than 1300 types of cheese?
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