A little bit about French inventions…

We associate many countries with certain things. Perhaps these are just stereotypes, but speaking of England, Earl Gray tea, hats and horse races, the queen and the Beatles immediately come to mind. China is associated with gunpowder, fireworks, ant-cities and also tea, but not Earl Grey, which is clearly British. France was no exception. Perfume, wine, champagne, croissant, baguette and takes only a part of those things that this country is considered to be the birthplace of. But is it really so?

• 1. French toast

  Although the basic recipe is very simple, you can always add more ingredients to this dish

  This is a wonderful dish that is so easy to cook that even a child can handle it. Fragrant slice of bread soaked in egg and fried in oil. But this recipe was created long before the emergence of such a country like France.

  The very first mention of such a "delicacy" can be found in the days of the Roman Empire. And for the inhabitants of the 5th century, it was not a tasty and nutritious dish, but a very quick and cheap way to “give second life” to stale bread. These were not those times one could throw away food, especially bread.

  The toasts became “French” with the light hand of the English monarch Henry V, no matter how strange it may sound. Henry, during his reign in the 15th century, fought with France for a long time, and he was very worried about the issue of food for the soldiers. Therefore, toasts were deliberately popularized as a dish that could restore freshness to bread for a long time.

• 2. French manicure

  Although the basic idea of the French manicure is unchanged, there is still room for imagination and creativity

  Of course, it would be foolish to assume that the French invented hand care. They also knew how to take care of the skin of their hands in ancient countries such as India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome and Greece. For this, masks and baths with milk, essential oils and even honey were used. More than five thousand years ago, Indian women already painted the tips of their nails with henna. But even the idea of ​​covering nails with nail polish was also not invented by the French.

  In the second half of the 19th century, beautiful well-groomed hands became synonymous to wealth and well-being. Therefore, they began to massively open nail salons in America and France. But then there was no such abundance and variety of tools as now: fat cream, nail scissors and lemon juice to lighten the overgrown edge of the nail plate – this is almost everything that was available to manicure masters at that time.

  The first nail polish was produced at the beginning of the 20th century in an American factory. Jeff Rose was the Hollywood makeup artist who first came up with the idea for the "French" manicure. By the way, he was an American.

  So where did the name come from? The fact is that French models and actresses were the first to fall in love with the new manicure design. They have become walking advertisements. And this advertisement was so successful that women from all over the world began to ask for a "French" manicure.

• 3. French Bulldogs

  It would seem that there can be no misunderstandings with this dog breed, but again, it’s off target. Despite the fact that there is a well-established and popular breed of English bulldog, their French brothers were also bred in England.

  Small dogs, which had fighting breeds as their ancestors, were bred specifically for British lacemakers. They were not only excellent companions and practically did not take up much space, but they were also very clever at catching rats. When a few seamstresses migrated to France, the dogs caught the eye of the representatives of the local bohemia and they fell in love with them for some reason.

  The "new" breed was officially registered in France, thereby giving such a name. But the French cynologists ardently reject this theory. Centuries of bloody British-French confrontation have left their mark.

• 4. French fries

  This is quite an unexpected dish on the list of "non-French" things. Still, for a Ukrainian person, French fries are fast food and are closely associated with McDonald's or Burger King, and they, in turn, are closely connected with American, not French culture.

  As it turned out, the opinion that French fries have French roots is wrong. Belgian culinary specialists assure that no matter how their "neighbors" insist, the dish has nothing to do with France.

  The first mention of French fries can be found in the annals of the XVIII century. At that time, the peasants, who lived on the banks of a small river, hunted by fishing, which was their main diet. But in the winter months, the river was frozen over, the fish became unavailable on the usual scale, and it was replaced by other products.

  Out of habit, the beloved potatoes were cut in the same way as fish - into strips. The new dish was delicious, nutritious, and most importantly, cheap.

  The name "French fries" appeared a little later with the light hand of American soldiers who were based in Belgium. The fact is that French is one of the three official languages adopted in Belgium, and it was on it that the soldiers communicated with each other. Soon, "French fried potatoes" were reduced to the usual short and capacious "French fries".

• 5. French kiss

  Most likely, scientists will never be able to find out exactly when kissing was invented, but it certainly was before our ancestors left the caves and began to work with stones. But some researchers claim that we inherited kisses from primates, who thus test a potential partner for immune compatibility.

  Despite the fact that France is the epitome of romance and love, a similar term appeared in the dictionary of the French themselves less than ten years ago. For them, it has always been the "Florentine kiss".

  The French kiss appeared again thanks to the Americans and the British. They were amazed at the ardent passion with which the French, without hesitation, kissed their wives and mistresses at a meeting. And since everything French has long been associated with sensual pleasures, such a name added spice.