Two bises or not two bises, that is the question.
(with apologies to the Bard for that appalling headline)
Bise is french for "kiss" - and the question that confounds many a frenchman or woman is just how many to give when meeting someone. Too many, and you can appear over-eager; too few, and you might seem offhand.
But an answer could soon be at hand - thanks to a website I was alerted to via one of my favourite quirky blogs, StrangeMaps.
StrangeMaps does it exactly what it says on the tin, rounding up weird and wonderful maps, old and new, informative and spurious, from around the world.
Recently it featured a map showing just how many bises people give depending on where they live in France. You can explore it by clicking on the image below.
We should be speaking to the man behind the map on PM on Wednesday.
Here's a selection of some of the best from StrangeMaps:
A map showing the proportion of Europeans with blond hair
If Britain had become part of the USA:
A map showing from which countries you will be able to see a total eclipse of the Sun until 2025:
There are plenty more at StrangeMaps - and as ever, we'd love to know the blogs and websites you enjoy reading.
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Comments
Marc
I was just about to rush-off to the area where I might get 5 bises but, despite the legend, I can't see it's colour on the map
Maybe it's just one person who's so generous..?
Wonder who. And, where..?
i-piper
There is no "5 kisses" area showing because it doesn't predominate in any single area - a lower number of kisses has the greatest share of votes across the country. There is some hope though - In one departement, called Allier in central france, 5 kisses are running second on 18 votes out of 89. However, because 2 kisses are in the lead on 64 votes, the whole area has the colour of "2 bises".
I wonder if there are any statistics on which cheek to, er, lead with? Left or right?
Phew... saying hello must take ages in those terracotta areas
I wonder if there are any statistics on which cheek to, er, lead with? Left or right?
Phew... saying hello must take ages in those terracotta areas
Oh! This post seems to be in a three or more attempts area known as the 'Cinque Zero Deux'
One always commences with the right cheek.
You show Deux-Sèvres as only 1 kiss; I can assure you that it is three in the south of the departement (as you correctly show for Vienne and Charente).
If anyone wants me, I'll be in Allier...
Jacques @ 5 - The full breakdown for Deux-Sevres shows that while one kiss is in the lead with 63 votes, three kisses are not far behind on 37, with around 25 going to both 2 votes and 4 votes. It looks like it's another département where the result it far from clear-cut!
I have no idea what the point of all this is; however, I do know that the French for kiss is baiser (both noun and verb), not bise, which translates as North wind.
more than one of the comments for the "blond" map are calls for a red head map. as a pure "ginge" i'd love to see that map too.
I'm under the impression the UK has the highest % of population with red hair (about 7% if i recall correctly) but would love to see the spread across europe. though this may be tainted by the "eye of the beholder" as i'm sure the blond map is too.
oh and for kissing, here in netherlands we do three. perhaps we could extend the map...
Sacrebleu @ 8
We're both right.
The "bise" does also mean North Wind. Here's the explanation, from Wikipedia:
The bise is a northern wind, cold and generally dry, that blows from the north-east of France to the south of the Massif Central, where it is called bise noire ("black bise"). The bise can also come from the north-east in Touraine and Quercy and even from the east in Deux-Sèvres.
Blowing year-round, the bise is usually accompanied by clear blue skies. However, it can sometimes bring heavy black clouds, storms and hail in autumn and winter.
The term comes from the French word that literally means a "peck on the cheek" and is used to describe the salutary kiss common in France.
Bise is also used in the common French expression "faire une bise" or "donner une bise" - to kiss or give a kiss.
It's possible the website's creator wanted to avoid the ambiguity that would have come from calling it "Combien De Baises" which would have meant something a bit stronger between two people!!!
I lived until recently in Baisse-Normandie where the custom was 4 kisses. The greetings always include children so families meeting up can be a long winded thing!
But it was wonderful that the children were included, imbuing them with a sense of belonging.