The French universe VS the English universe
Discussion
There seems to be two parallel universes in existence, one French and one English, both being expressed on a regular basis on Wikipedia.
There are many examples of this, here's the latest:
Who invented the gyroscope?
Well the French reckon it was their man Léon Foucault and say that on his Wikipedia article- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Foucault
But the English speaking Wikipedia says that although he named it, he didn't invent it!- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Foucault
The Italians appear to agree with the French on this.
There are many examples of this in Wikipedia and it's always interesting to click on "read article in another language".
So, who's right then?
There are many examples of this, here's the latest:
Who invented the gyroscope?
Well the French reckon it was their man Léon Foucault and say that on his Wikipedia article- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Foucault
But the English speaking Wikipedia says that although he named it, he didn't invent it!- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Foucault
The Italians appear to agree with the French on this.
There are many examples of this in Wikipedia and it's always interesting to click on "read article in another language".
So, who's right then?
Edited by Driller on Saturday 26th March 15:04
Mystery solved!FlossyThePig said:
Ah wikipedia the wall known source of all that is true and correct.
According to my set of Chambers's Encyclopaedia (15 volumes) Léon_Foucault invented the gyroscope.
Dammit, Flossy. You cannot kowtow to the French like that. Next thing you know, they'll think they can stop using the white sheet as their national flag.According to my set of Chambers's Encyclopaedia (15 volumes) Léon_Foucault invented the gyroscope.
cymtriks said:
silverfoxcc said:
Don't tell the Chinese.My DiL says they invented everything, and watching the TV recently on the silk road and the BBC prog about China. i am begining to believ her!
Most famously gunpowder, which almost certainly wasn't invented by them!xRIEx said:
cymtriks said:
silverfoxcc said:
Don't tell the Chinese.My DiL says they invented everything, and watching the TV recently on the silk road and the BBC prog about China. i am begining to believ her!
Most famously gunpowder, which almost certainly wasn't invented by them!
xRIEx said:
cymtriks said:
silverfoxcc said:
Don't tell the Chinese.My DiL says they invented everything, and watching the TV recently on the silk road and the BBC prog about China. i am begining to believ her!
Most famously gunpowder, which almost certainly wasn't invented by them!xRIEx said:
cymtriks said:
silverfoxcc said:
Don't tell the Chinese.My DiL says they invented everything, and watching the TV recently on the silk road and the BBC prog about China. i am begining to believ her!
Most famously gunpowder, which almost certainly wasn't invented by them!The Arabs circa 1250.
The earlier Chinese records refer to "fire arrows" which at a later date would certainly have meant "rocket", as in something propelled by gunpowder. However at the date we are interested in the phrase meant what it says, an arrow dipped in burning tar and aimed at wooden buildings or just shot for effect. Some of these documents have contemporary pictures showing exactly that.
Also there is the problem of ingredients. While charcoal and sulphur have been known for thousands of years the identification of saltpetre as a unique substance is much more recent. Interestingly the ancient Chinese commissioned a list of every known substance and, guess what, saltpetre isn't on it. However it does appear in the Middle East just before it appears in Europe and guess what it was being used for.
Sometime after gunpowder was known in the West the Chinese actually paid for western advice on how to make it.
This leaves the older "Greek fire" and possibly older Chinese fireworks which need to be explained. These may be closer to what we would now call a Molotov or a coloured smoke screen respectively but we are well into speculation.
Got the above twenty years ago from the FiL (I hope I've got it all correct) who used to be an explosives expert.
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