❗❗ You should read the full article in French available here. This article is aimed at French learners having a B2 to a C1 level in the language. Should your level be lower than that, I still recommend you read first the article in French and try to get the gist of the story and then check with this version in English how much you understood. Happy learning!

The Trash Can, an Everyday Object

The trash can is an invention that has revolutionized the world. It can be found almost everywhere and is one of those little everyday things we take for granted. However, there was a time when trash cans didn’t exist[1]. How did we manage without them? Who invented it? These are all questions that the first article in the series “Little Cultural Anecdotes About France” will answer.

Life before the invention of the trash can

Did you know that during the Renaissance, excrement and other waste from human activity was thrown out of windows and into the streets? Farmers would go into the streets to collect mud mixed with excrement and other detritus to fertilize their fields. For cities with a river, such as the Seine in Paris, this was where the waste was dumped. Needless to say, hygiene was poor, and this general state of filth encouraged the outbreak of very serious disease epidemics, such as the plague in 1522.

Who invented the trash can?

Despite several attempts by different governments to implement street cleaning, the reluctance of the French to change their habits made the creation of more hygienic automation very slow! It was in 1884 that [2], ou l’invention du traitement des ordures ménagères : https://artsandculture.google.com/story/bAVRFgJzbfSQJg?hl=fr” class=”js–wpm-format-cite”>Eugène Poubelle[2], then prefect of the city of Paris, made it mandatory to deposit waste in special containers with a lid to get rid of household waste in front of the door of homes. It was therefore on November 24, 1883, the date the decree came into force, that the trash can, now used throughout the world, was created!

Vocabulaire	Définition	Anglais
La Renaissance	Période historique et artistique qui naît en Europe autour du XVe siècle.	Renaissance
Un déchet	Résidu inutilisable.	waste
Atterrir	Se poser au sol.	to land
Un agriculteur (féminin: une agricultrice)	Personne qui cultive la terre ou élève des animaux.	a farmer
Récupérer	Recouvrer.	to retrieve
La boue	Terre mouillée.	mud
Être doté de	Avoir en sa possession quelque chose d’avantageux.	to be equipped with
Il va sans dire que	Il est évident que.	it goes without saying
La crasse	La saleté.	filth
Une épidémie	Maladie infectieuse contagieuse qui apparaît et se propage chez un grand nombre de personnes.	epidemic
La peste	Maladie très contagieuse et mortelle causée par le bacille Yersinia pestis.	plague
1522	Mille-cinq-cent-vingt-deux.	
Le nettoyage	Action d’enlever la saleté et la poussière.	cleaning
La réticence	Réserve, hésitation.	reluctance
1884	Mille-huit-cent-quatre-vingt-quatre.	
Le préfet	Un préfet est un fonctionnaire qui a pour rôle de représenter le pouvoir exécutif central au sein d’une préfecture.	a prefect
Le dépôt	Action de poser quelque part.	a drop-off
Un couvercle	Fermeture d’un contenant.	a lid
Se débarrasser de	Se séparer de quelque chose qui n’est plus voulu.	to get rid of
Les ordures ménagères	Les déchets que les gens mettent dans la poubelle chez eux.	household trash
Un logement	Bâtiment dans lequel on réside.	an accomodation
1883	Mille-huit-cent-quatre-vingt-trois	
L’entrée en vigueur de	La mise en application de quelque chose.	coming into effect of
Un arrêté	Une règle créée par une institution administrative.	a decree
Désormais	Dorénavant.	from now on

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