Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 November 28

= November 28 =

What the MOST POPULAR leisure-time activity in France was in the early 1900s (1900-1909) (this is technically a different question from my last one)
I know I posted a similar question to this several hours ago, but I realized I was asking the wrong question. So I'm posting the question I should have asked before:

What was the most popular leisure time activity in France in the early 1900s (1900-1909)? I'm assuming it was the cafe and the cafe concert. But I'm not positive. Can anyone help me out with this question? Rebel Yeh (talk) 03:53, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * The problem is, there won't have been any surveys done, at the time, asking people what their favorite leisure-time activity was. So, all we can do is guess. StuRat (talk) 05:58, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * The cafe is not an activity. A better thought out question would help.  Playing cards would be at the top of the list of activities with more than one person.


 * As the Tour de France is approaching its 110th birthday, I feel it is safe to say that cycling would have qualified as an answer here. --TammyMoet (talk) 14:32, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The bal-musette deserves a mention. In addition to things already mentioned: magic lantern and cinematograph showings. Public talks and lectures,museums. No shortage of things to do in Paris,and some of them affordable by the masses. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:52, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * For the well-to-do, possibly riding their carriages in the park would have been a popular leisure activity. 216.93.234.239 (talk) 20:57, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * A good reference work for the OP would be Theodore Zeldin's History of French Passions, vol. 5, which deals with leisure activities in france during the pre-World War I period. I recall he spends a lot of time describing what were popular entertainments in theaters and the like. --Xuxl (talk) 10:19, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Sex probably.85.211.129.251 (talk) 10:10, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You are really missing out on the obvious here: card games. Easily half the names of card games in English are of French origin, as are the suits and the red and black coloration and words like renege.  Faites vos jeux, mesdames et messieurs, faites vos jeux! μηδείς (talk) 03:17, 2 December 2012 (UTC)


 * What social group are you interested in? They will inevitably have had different recreational activities (and different amounts of time available for recreation). --Tango (talk) 01:53, 3 December 2012 (UTC)