In the Ist arrondissement of Paris, there are more places to find traces of the past than just the Louvre. In 1550, just a few hundred yards away on the corner of the Rue de la Cossonnerie and the Rue Pierre Lescot, there was a cabaret with a strange name: La truie qui file or 'The Spinning Sow'. But why? Well, on mi-carême, the third Thursday of Lenten fasting, groups of young people would meet outside to drink and sing in the street. A young boy and girl would then be chosen by their peers and carried shoulder high. They then had to hug the pig that was the sign hanging above the street. But if, by some twist of fate, the girl and boy should themselves become entwined, they were stripped of their underwear in front of everyone! More than 450 years later, the pig is still there. So if you pass by this corner, be careful if you kiss. Of course, you could also tighten your belt. On the corner of the Rue de la Cossonnerie and the Rue Pierre Lescot. Ist arrondissement of Paris.
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