Les Faits Français

Les Faits Bizarres(Bizarre Facts)

100

Which category has France received the most Nobel Prizes?

a. Cuisine

b. Peace

c. Literature

d. Economic Sciences

C. Literature

Around 16 recipients have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, the most recent being Annie Ernaux in 2022

200

Which quote did Marie Antoinette say?

a. "Deliver the bread among the starving children!"

b. "Let them eat cake!"

c. "They [the children of the poor] can lick the crumbs off my fingers!"

d. None of the above

D. None of the above

People often quote her for saying "Let them eat cake!" but this quote was published long after her death, and there is no record of her saying this line.

Some have also said that in response to the poor Frenchmen who were protesting outside the palace, she told them "They [the children] can lick the crumbs off my fingers!" This is also not documented.

300

After the Norman Conquest of 1066, French became which country's official language used in the courts, law, and by the aristocracy until the late 1300s?

a. England

b. Germany

c. North America

d. Italy

A. England

400

What plague/epidemic ran rampant throughout France (at the time Strasbourg, Alsace) in July-September of 1518?

a. The Screaming Epidemic of 1518

b. The Dancing Plague of 1518

c. The Cannibalistic Epidemic of 1518

d. The Catatonic Plague of 1518

B. The Dancing Plague (l'Épidémie dansante de 1518)

This was a sudden outbreak of uncontrollable dancing throughout Strasbourg in the summer of 1518. This started with a woman and her daughter dancing with no music, which led to many others joining and dancing as well, referred to as "choreomaniacs". The only thing that stopped this dancing was the death of the dansers. The initial woman died after a week of dancing. This was possibly the nocebo effect (where one falls ill simply from the expectation of being ill), or a result of poisoning.

500

The French word "la poubelle" is named after Eugène-René Poubelle for his contribution. What is la poubelle and what was his contribution? 

a. vaccine; he introduced the first vaccine in Paris

b. trash can; he introduced waste bins to Paris

c. a type of wine; he discovered this specific type of wine using a wild berry he found in his vineyard

d. a type of publication award; he introduced books to public schools

B. Trash can; he introduced waste bins to Paris

Les Célébrités

100

What are the names of the two Gaulois characters from the famous French comic with the same name?

a. Asterix & Obelix

b. Papa Smurf & Smurfette

c. Vercingetorix & Dumnorix 

A. Asterix & Obelix

200

Which of these celebrities do not speak French?

a. Jodie Foster

b. Johnny Depp

c. Serena Williams

d. Venus Williams

D. Venus Williams

Although sisters, Serena learned to speak French, but Venus did not.

Jodie Foster went to a French prep school in Los Angeles, even voicing her own French dubs of her movies. Johnny Depp learned conversational French when he lived in Paris.

300

Which celebrity was born in Paris, France?

a. Emma Watson

b. Coco Chanel

c. Millie Bobby Brown

d. Justin Trudeau

A. Emma Watson

Coco Chanel was born in Saumur, France (about a 3h30 drive from Paris)
Millie Bobby Brown was born in Marbella, Spain
Justin Trudeau was born in Ottawa, Canada

400

This popular French soccer player infamously head-butted Italian player Marco Materazzi. Who was it?

a. Lilian Thuram

b. Zinédine Zidane

c. Didier Deschamps

d. Emmanuel Macron

B. Zinédine Zidane

Apparently what happened was Zizou told Materazzi he'd give Materazzi his jersey after he wins (trash talk). And Materazzi told him, "I'd rather have your sister."

Lilian Thuram and Didier Deschamps were on the same team as Zizou.
Emmanuel Macron is the president of France.

500

Which famous French figure was attacked by a horde of rabbits?

a. Coco Chanel

b. Claude Monet

c. Brigitte Macron

d. Napoleon Bonaparte

D. Napoleon Bonaparte

Les Titres de Films

100

Which is the French movie title for "Happy Deathday"?

a. Joyeuse Mort (Happy Death)

b. Happy Birthdead

c. Death of Birth

B. Happy Birthdead

200

Which is the French movie title for "The Purge"?

a. The Urge

b. La Purge

c. American Nightmare

C. American Nightmare

300

Which is the French translation of the movie "Home Alone"?

a. Maman, j'ai ratté l'avion (Mom, I missed the plane)

b. Seul à la maison (Alone at home)

c. Le Noël sans ma famille (Christmas without my family)

A. Maman, j'ai ratté l'avion (Mom, I missed the plane)

400

What is the French movie title for "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"?

a. Moi et Earl et la fille qui meurt (Me and Earl at the girl who's dying)

b. This is not a love story

c. Les parodies en amour (Parodies in love)

B. This is not a love story

500

What is the French movie title for "The Matrix"?

a. Les jeunes gens qui traversent les dimensions en portant des lunettes de soleil (Young people who travel dimensions while wearing sunglasses)

b. Le Matrix

c. La Matrice

d. Échappe la simulation (Escape the simulation)

B. Le Matrix and C. La Matrice (La Matrice is the name in Québec)
a lot of people for some reason think it's the sunglasses one but that's a myth

Les Mots Bizarres(Bizarre Words)

100

What does "anticonstitutionellement" mean?

a. actions that go against the established rules of a state

b. when you make a verbal agreement with a friend and they break the verbal agreement, but pretend like they don't know what you're talking about

c. when you inauthentically sell cake as bread

d. being the only person to protest something that everyone else approves of

A. actions that go against the established rules of a state

in other words, anti-constitutionally (is literally what it means)

anti-constitutionelle-ment
anti-constitutional-ly

200

What does the verb "flâner" mean? (flah-neh)

a. to be flatulent, to fart

b. to wander around for no particular reason

c. to fan yourself

d. to outwardly admire someone while on the inside you're insanely jealous of them

B. to wander around for no particular reason

Les flâneurs (wanderers) will wander around to window-shop, people watch, admire the city/nature, with no destination in mind.

300

What does "Métro-boulot-dodo" mean? (meht-row boo-low doh-doh)

a. using the bathroom in the subway station

b. embarrassing yourself on the subway

c. an existential experience of taking the train to work then going straight home to sleep

d. the feeling of people staring at you eating a Subway on the subway

C. an existential experience of taking the train to work then going straight home to sleep

Métro = metro, subway
Boulot = job, work
Dodo = baby talk for sleepy time

Metro-work-sleep

400

What does "spleen" mean? (pronounced the same)

a. an organ in your body that filters blood and helps boost the immune system

b. a compliment for someone who works so hard that their efforts benefit everyone around them

c. an insult for political figures who actively fight against protests

d. a deep melancholic depression based on profound dissatisfaction and discouragement

D. a deep melancholic depression based on profound dissatisfaction and discouragement

This may track back to in the olden days (ancient Greece) when they believed the human body was made up of humors.

The spleen was thought to hold black bile which was responsible for depression and low mood

500

What does "sardanapalesque" mean?

a. a woman with a sardonic attitude who holds a strong, powerful role

b. a powerful individual who leads an excessively luxurious life

c. when someone with a cynical attitude irritates you because they are so pessimistic

d. a specific argument you have with someone at the beach about if you'd rather drown or be eaten alive by a shark

B. a powerful individual who leads an excessively luxurious life

Based on Sardanapalus, the supposed last king of the Mesopotamian civilization Assyria, who lived a decadent, extravagant life. (There's not much evidence to suggest this was a real person, the name most likely ties to Ashurbanipal or his brother Shamash-shum-ukin.)