Where did the metric system come from? If you order lobster thermidor, what does “thermidor” mean? Who would design a clock that had 100 minutes in every hour?

These all go back to the French Revolution. When the zealots weren’t busy chopping off heads, they decided to remake the world in a more “rational” way. Hence the metric system, new clocks, and a calendar where months had names like brumaire and thermidor.

Read all about these, er, “interesting” innovations in French Today!