Odd Things #4

Here is another odd thing related to timekeeping in Paris.

In one of the main squares of Paris, the Place de la Concorde, you can find an Eqyptian obelisk (pictured below).

The obelisk is from the Temple of Luxor.  After being shipped from Egypt to France, it was erected in the Place de la Concorde in 1836.  It stands about 75 feet tall and is more than 3,000 years old.

Depending on which story you believe, the obelisk was a gift, the obelisk was traded for a clock (that has never worked), or the obelisk was misappropriated.  Egypt wants the obelisk returned.  France says non.  (Of course, the French always say non.)

Here is the odd thing about the obelisk.  Early in the 1900's, a French scientist proposed using the obelisk as a sundial.  At the end of the 1900's, that proposal became a reality.  To celebrate the millennium, the City of Paris marked the pavement around the obelisk to signify hours of the day.  On a sunny day, the shadow cast by the obelisk moves clockwise around the square.    

  

The numbers have faded since 1999, but you can still find them.  Below, Marie-Chantal stands in the obelisk's shadow at the marker for "XIII", or 1:00 p.m.  

"XIII" represents 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon.

Of course, using a sundial to tell the exact local time is not a simple exercise.  Various adjustments are necessary, including the addition of an hour to account for le temps de l'heure d'été ("daylight saving time").  

Still, using an ancient obelisk to tell the time is very cool.  

Sundials were frequently used throughout France in past centuries.  How many sundials can still be found in France?

Answer:  About 10,000.  Who knew?