Tag: Medieval Paris

Posted on

Paris Therapy Pets

Just when you think you’ve seen protests for (or against) about every political, humanitarian, or social issue one can imagine, you run into one which makes you scratch your head and say, “What are those people thinking?” For me this time, it’s about the protests in France supporting the Paris sewer rats. Yep, you heard it here and as I’m fond of saying, “I don’t make up this stuff.” In fact, I read about this topic in a recent article entitled, French Freedom Fighters Press for the Rights of Parisian Rats. I can never resist a good article on French Freedom Fighters.

Seriously, Sandy and I visited Paris last September and we were standing in the small park memorializing the Grand Rafle (click here to read The Roundup and Cycling Arena) and the victims who were detained at the Velodrome before being transported to Drancy and ultimately, Auschwitz. As we were walking through the park, good sized rats scurried about around our feet. It turns out that rats have invaded Paris supermarkets, parks, and nurseries (and I suspect many other venues that no one wants to admit). So, the French politicians held a convention to determine a solution.

The Boatwright brothers holding their catch of rats. Photo by anonymous (January 1940). PD-Expired Copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
The Boatwright brothers holding their catch of rats. Photo by anonymous (January 1940). PD-Expired Copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

The solution was one that likely you and I could easily have figured out sans a convention: poison the rats. That’s when the trouble began. Protestors are against this “inhumane” method of execution (I guess they should not have gotten rid of the guillotine albeit perhaps on a smaller scale to accommodate the rodents’ necks). Instead, they presented their solution to the mayor of the 17th arrondissement (district): rodent birth-control. Once again, I don’t make this stuff up.

Dead rats hanging in the window of Auroze, a specialist in dératisation (rat removal). Photo by Ineke Huizing (2013). PD-CCA 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.
Dead rats hanging in the window of Auroze, a specialist in dératisation (rat removal). Photo by Ineke Huizing (2013). PD-CCA 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.

And if reading about the rat infestation isn’t enough, you can watch it here. Read More Paris Therapy Pets

Posted on

Thomas Crapper: Remembered From the Bowels of History

Thomas Crapper toilet at the Victor Horta Museum, Brussels. Photo by Oxyman (2007). Victor Horta Museum. PD-GNU Free Documentation License. Wikimedia Commons.
Thomas Crapper toilet at the Victor Horta Museum, Brussels. Photo by Oxyman (2007). Victor Horta Museum. PD-GNU Free Documentation License. Wikimedia Commons.

Whom and what can you believe these days? Today it’s known as “False or Fake News” and during the Reagan era, it was called “Spin.” A headline (or social media) is where it all starts. I should know. Remember my blog called Cindy Lauper and the Naked Princess? That one got a lot of attention. I recently read a BBC History Magazine article entitled The Legend of Thomas Crapper: Five Myths. It appears as though there has been a fair amount of false news perpetuated about Mr. Crapper over the past century. I suppose it’s all a bunch of crap.

Meet Thomas Crapper

Portrait of Thomas Crapper. Photo by anonymous (c. 19th-century). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.
Portrait of Thomas Crapper. Photo by anonymous (c. 19th-century). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.

Thomas Crapper (1836−1910) is fondly remembered as the inventor of the toilet or if you will, the flushing toilet. However, is this really true? No, it’s not as we’ll see in a moment. Thomas was seventeen when he apprenticed under his brother George, a master plumber. By the time Thomas was twenty-five, he had gone out on his own and started a brass foundry and plumbing shop near Chelsea (now an affluent section of West London and my nephew’s favorite English Premier League team). Read More Thomas Crapper: Remembered From the Bowels of History