Honk When You Feel Like It

By Shayne Nelson

In Paris of the Fifties, cars and trucks were already a nuisance, but at least they were silent. Because honking was illegal, and drivers universally respected the law. I realize that this is difficult to believe in this day and age, but it was so. Proof of the fact was shown in an article in Life magazine in 1957. The editors asked the Paris police for permission to drive around Paris honking for an hour or two, in order to photograph peoples’ reactions in the Paris streets. They got the permission, and got the photos of shocked anger by the Parisians, and thus provided proof of how the no-honking law was generally respected in those days. It was one of the things about Paris that made living there wonderful. [CONTINUE READING]