* Mr Nice V: Discovering radioactivity?
* Mr abominablecollarUSA: Madame Curie was a proud Polish woman.

OK.

So we now have established Fermi was Italian, Einstein German, Edward Teller Hungarian and Admiral Rickover Russian.

* Mr Nice V: Inventing the movies?
* Mr abominablecollarUSA: Thomas Edison - American

Mr Edison invented a thingie to which you had to stick your face to see things. A bit like a Chinese zeotrope, years before hippie leader Yesus Christus was born.

The first practical public projection of a movie in a viewing conditions fit for humans took place in the city of La Ciotat, France.

* Mr Nice V: Co-inventing airplanes?
* Mr abominablecollarUSA: The Wright Brothers - Americans.

First, grant me that I had been kind enough to say 'co-inventors'. Because the Wright Brothers never invented airplanes. Because they relied on a catapult for take-off.

Equivalent to Frenchman Jean-Marie Le Bris who made the first powered flight In 1856, by having his glider "L'Albatros artificiel" pulled by a horse on a beach.

But of course, the first real airplane flight was in 1906, Alberto Santos Dumont made what has been claimed as the first airplane flight unassisted by catapult.

Argentinian national, lived and worked in France. Cf question Curie/Einstein/Fermi.

* Mr Nice V: Being team leader in WWI?
* Mr abominablecollarUSA: Where french officers sent their own troops to be slaughtered by the tens of thousands. Brilliant leadership.

I didn't suggest 'brilliant' leadership. Just leadership.

Would you try to claim 'brilliant' leadership in Iraq or Afghanistan?

* Mr Nice V: Co-founder of the EU with ex-foe Germany?
* Mr abominablecollarUSA: Sure you want to brag about that one, jean?

Well, on this one, I would grant you some temporary setbacks

* Mr Nice V: Business as usual, VAVD, business as usual.
* Mr abominablecollarUSA:Quite. Frenchies taking credit for others' work, and bragging about their own spectacular failures. Business as usual indeed.

"taking credit for others' work, and bragging about their own spectacular failures."

You just defined politics, Mr abominablecollarUSA

.

Thanks for setting the record straight, BCUSA. But as you can see, Jean is still in denial.

ibigmang wrote:

Thanks for setting the record straight, BCUSA. But as you can see, Jean is still in denial.

I gotta cut jeanv some slack. The global recession has sent ox-cart sales plummeting and he's a bit depressed.

Might need to take out a second mortgage on his mud hut. And see his witch-doctor about upping his scrip for mood stabilizers.