Upon Returning from the Expo...
The Universal Exposition of 1900 was definitely a big thing. It occupied
108 hectares from the Concorde to the Torcadero and from Invalides to the
avenue de Suffren. Inaugurated on April 14, it closed its doors on November 12,
after it garnered fifty-one-million visitors, with 652 000 on October 7th
alone. The 10 000 or so objects on displaywere broken up into 18 groups and 121
classes, some of which we will list here: musical instruments (no. 17), power
tools (no. 22), ballooning (no. 34), grains, seeds and plants (no. 48), wines
and spirits (no. 60), wallpapers (no. 68), silks (no. 83), smoking and matches
(no. 91), institutions for the intellectual and moral development of workers
(no. 108), colonial goods (no. 114), military genius (no. 117). There could be
admired, among others, a collection of Marie-Antoinette's painted buttons, a
collection of 16th and 17th century bolts and locks, a collection of sonnets by
Mr. Jules Domerge, a collection of perfume bottles by the Pinaud perfumery, a
collection of Mrs. Alfred Heymann's magnifying glasses, spyglasses and
binoculars and a collection of Mr. Michon's candle snuffers.
1. The Exposition was inaugurated by the President of the Republic and the
Prime Minister. Their names were, respectively:
a. Millerand and Georges-Leygues
b. Deschanel and Pelletan
c. Loubet and Waldeck-Rousseau
d. Felix Faure and Declasse
e. Poincare and Clemenceau
2. The 22nd of September was the celebratory banquet for French Mayors. It
brought together over 21000 mayors. It was served by the house of Potel and
Chabot and used, among others, two tonnes of salmon, 1200 litres of mayonnaise,
50 000 bottles od wine and eight kilometres of napkin. Where was it?
a. On the Champ-de-mars
b. At the Tuileries
c. At Pre Catelan
d. In the bois de Vicennes
3. One popular mode of transportation at the Exposition was the "mobile
plat-form," known as the moving walkway. It cost 0.50 Franks and transported
ten-million passengers. What was its route?
a. From Invalides back to Invalides via quai d'Orsay, the current quai Branly
(then quai d'Orsay), the avenue de Suffren, the avenue de La Motte-Picquet, the
boulevard de La Tour-Maubourg.
b. From Grand Palais to the Eiffel Tower via Invalides, quai d'Orsay, the
avenue Rapp and the rue de Montessuy.
c. From Invalides back to Invalides via quai d'Orsay, avenue de Bourdonnais,
the avenue de La Motte-Picquet and the rue Fabert.
d. Along the Champ-Elysees
4. A famous artist performed with a Cambodian troupe during the Exposition.
They were:
a. Cleo de Merode
b. Loie Fuller
c. Colette
d. Isadora Duncan
e. Anna Pavlova
5. Two important bicycling events raced at the municipal velodrome in Vicennes were won by the Dutch. Meyers won the Exposition Grand Prix and Cordang triumphed in the 24-hour long course called "The Bol d'Or." How far did he ride in 24 hours?
a. 613,850 km
b. 728,225 km
c. 854,500 km
d. 956,775 km
