Forgive me for the deviation, or perhaps a “your welcome” is order for those that would like a break from the burpee talk, but I have something (else) to comment on. Ages ago, I saw Peugeot brand salt and pepper mills at pub, and I found that odd. So Peugeot is one of the major industrials fixtures of France, so Mulhouse is home to one of the production plants, but what kind of odd place had salt and pepper mills branded with a local car company’s logo? Then I found them in a store, and found it even stranger. A while later, while looking to buy a bicycle, I was given a Peugeot bike as a gift – ok, somehow I found that a bit less strange, but still.
When today, I came across the salt and pepper mills again, I had to say something. So I went online to find a photo of these to share with you, and instead came across “Peugeot Mills and Grinders” website. As it turns out, Peugeot has a much longer (and more interesting) history than I imagined in the French industrial world, starting as a steel foundry in 1810. From saws (1812) to coffee grinders (1840) to crinoline hoopskirts (1852) to sewing machines (1867) to their first pepper mill in 1874. There first gas-powered car came along just 16 years after the pepper mill (check out the history section of the website (there’s an English version) – it’s actually pretty interesting.
This may also explain something else I’ve only vaguely wondered about: a lot of people refer to Peugeot (the car manufacturer) as PSA – the official name being PSA Peugeot. Peugeot Moulins (now a different, if affiliated, company) is actually called PSP Peugeot.
So they say you learn something new every day. Today I got an unexpected lesson in French history. Cool.
