Gay Paris

Did you know that the mayor of Paris is gay? It's true. His name is Bertrand Delanoe, he's been in office since 2002, and overall it seems that he's quite popular. It's the largest city in the world with an openly gay mayor, which is fairly appropriate perhaps given the nickname of "Gay Paris". He was actually the victim of an assassination attempt by an insane political right-winger and homophobe shortly after being elected, but fortunately made it through the stabbing incident without major medical problems.

French Words of the Day: two French words with interesting origins. The first of these words is "poubelle" which is the French word for "garbage can". Interestingly, it is named after a person, Eugene Poubelle, a Parisian public official in 1884 who decreed that all garbage must be kept in a storage container with distinct specifications. I guess it's somewhat analogous to the British Thomas Crapper, inventor of the toilet. There are worse things to be known for, but it's hard to think of what they might be.

The second interesting word is "klaxon", the French word for horn. The word started out as a brand-name but is now used to refer to any horn on an automobile. Perhaps similar to our own words "Kleenex" and the way the word "Coke" is used in the Southern United States, often used to refer to any type of carbonated beverage.

A demain!