Removals to France: Best French Inventions

When you think of France and what it is famous for, cheese, wine and culinary expertise all come to mind - all things you can look forward to once you have arranged your removals to France. However, there is more to France than its regional specialities and even some of the simple things that we take for granted, and use every day, were invented by the French. Although it will be impossible to list all the top French inventions, here are what we feel are the pick of the best.

If you are moving to France, you will want to arrange for a removals company that you can rely on for providing high quality and stress free removals. Hamiltons is just such a company,  specialising in removals to France and we have moved customers to all parts of the country in the 20 years since we have been established. We provide full or part load removals to France and we can also arrange the removals of pets and specialist items such as machinery and farm equipment.

In the meantime, if you would like to brush up on your general knowledge before the day of your removals to France, read on to find some top things invented by our friends across The Channel.

Removals to France –  click here to find out more about our removals to France service.

Important French Inventions

Modern Pencil – The pencil as we know it today was invented by Frenchmen Nicolas Jacques Conté who, in the late 18th century, developed the process to make the modern pencil – something you will most likely be using to make lists with before your removals to France! Although graphite was already used for writing, Conté kiln fired a mixture of graphite and clay which he enclosed in wooden casing and – voila – the modern pencil was born!

Pencil Sharpener - The most important tool to accompany the modern pencil is the pencil sharpener and sharpeners of the type in use today were also invented by a Frenchman, Therry des Estwaux, in 1847.

Bicycle – Bicycles are on many children’s Christmas lists – and adults too. But it came about in 1864 thanks to two Frenchmen, Pierre Lallement and Pierre Michaux.  There are now twice as many bicycles in the world as there are cars. The bicycle, or pushbike, has also done wonders worldwide as studies in some parts of Africa has shown the bicycle has increased the income for some of the poorest families by as much as a third.

Hairdryer – The hairdryer is a female essential and this was invented by hair stylist and salon owner Alexandre Godefroy in the late 19th century. However, it was a hooded version of the hairdryer and the first modern handheld one wasn’t created until 1920.

Little Black Dress (or LBD) - Just as hairdryers have become a modern day essential, so has the little black dress and nearly every woman has at least one in their wardrobe. This versatile clothing item was the brainchild of Coco Chanel in the 1920’s and the first picture was published in Vogue in 1926, correctly predicting that it would become a ‘uniform for women of all tastes’.

Calculator - Nearly every home and business in the UK has one of these and, if you don’t have the portable type, you may at least use the calculator option on your computer or mobile phone. The mechanical calculator, or adding machine, was first invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642 and these were large devices which took a long time to create so he only made 20 of them.

Taxi – If we go out for the evening and plan to have a few glasses of wine, many of us reach for the phone and order a taxi. But few people know it was a French invention.  It was invented by Nicholas Sauvage in 1640, although there may have been earlier examples of the taxi.

Diesel Engine – Refrigerator engineer Rudolf Diesel, who was born in Paris, invented the first engine that proved fuel did not have to be ignited with a spark. He made the first successfully operating diesel engine in 1897.

Photography – The world’s first photo was created by Nicéphore Niépce in the early 1900’s in the family home in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. One of his earliest surviving images is taken with a camera obscura in 1826 and is called ‘a view from the window at Le Gras’. The grainy photograph captures two people going about their daily activity.

Braille – The embossed type that enables blind and partially sighted people to read was invented in the 1800’s by Louis Braille, who lost his sight at the age of three years as a result of an accident. He was keen to read and invented a system to make it possible; and now there is Braille for almost every language worldwide.

Blood transfusion – Blood transfusions have saved millions of lives all over the world. The very first blood transfusion was performed in the late 17th century by Jean-Baptiste Denys when he transfused sheep blood into a teenage patient who survived.

About Hamiltons

Hamiltons offers weekly removals to France and, for the ultimate in convenience, we also provide a special service where you can set the collection and delivery dates for your move.
Removals to France – click here for full information on our removals to France service or click here for a free European removals quote.