History Lesson

I really wish there was a funicular (uphill/downhill tram) in Grasse.

In fact, before World War II, there was one. For a little while afterward, as well, but then cars came along and people modeled towns around them, and since the recent trend toward public transportation hasn't sunk in yet... But, back in WWII, the Nazis stormed Grasse and destroyed the funicular. My question: Why?

I mean, never mind that anyone occupying Grasse (be they hostiles or recently turned 23) would benefit from a way straight up the hill. No, no -- why would the Nazis bother with Grasse in the first place? If they wasted their time and forces trying to occupy this town, then it's no wonder they lost. I mean, it's cute and all, but if you're going to be a highly organized, thoroughly terrifying regime occupying a small, innocent town, wouldn't you at least pick one closer to the water and less hazy? All I'm saying is that I can't think of that many wars that have been won by cutting off the enemy's perfume supply.

But that got me wondering... Why did French people bother with Grasse? In the first place, I mean. It's not particularly strategic, the slope precludes fertile farmland, and my sources tell me the perfume industry didn't start up 'til the middle ages. Grasse predates the Roman Empire. Why?

The answer is water.

As I've mentioned on numerous occasions, Grasse is a distance from the sea, so this explanation doesn't make much sense. But I've also mentioned on numerous occasions that Grasse is where you start to get into the mountains. Higher up in these mountains are springs that trickle underground through the mountain, but rarely pop up anywhere. It pops up in Grasse, so in the time before acqueducts, fresh water was a big deal.

As for the perfume? By the middle ages, Grasse had become a tannery town (a tannery is where you turn animal hide into leather, etc.). Well-renowned for it, even - serving nobility and royalty - but with one big, blunt problem:

The leather smelled like shit.

That's not just a turn of phrase: made in a tannery, leather is treated with animal droppings. I actually saw and smelled (smelt?) smelt this firsthand in Marrakesh, so it's true, and it's not just Grasse. Anyway, at some point, the brilliant idea was had to treat the leather with perfume to cancel the odor. It continues to work out very well, even if the tanneries that originally inspired this industrial development didn't.

Anyway, I thought this was cool.

-Andy