1. Eduard Khil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   Eduard Anatolyevich Khil (Russian: Эдуард Анатольевич Хиль; IPA: [ɛdu'art ənɐ'tolʲjɪvʲɪt͡ɕ xʲilʲ] (often transliterated as Edward Hill); 4 September 1934 - 4 June 2012) was a Russian baritone singer and a recipient of the People's Artist Award of the RSFSR. Khil became known to a western audience in 2010 when a 1976 recording of him singing a non-lexical vocable version of the song "I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home" (Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой) became an Internet meme, known as "Trololololololololololo" or "Trololo".^[1]

2. Because he is dead. Also Russian.

His name is connected to an era in the history of Russian music. Eduard Khil was unique in his extraordinary charm and lyricism, constant in his professionalism, vocal culture and creative taste. Many of the songs he performed became part of the golden fund of the Russian stage.

Internet sees:


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I'm told the locals recommend chewing a local leaf, I suggest you try some ;-))

keep to the Fen Causeway

Prior to the 1870 Franco-Prussian war, the French already hated the Prussians.  There were no "Germans" at the time.  This was because of the many wars between Prussia and the French in the previous centuries, but also in the not-so-distant past, during the Napoleonic Wars.

Nationalism in France mostly developed during the revolution, in the late 18th century, at a time when several European powers tried to topple the newly created republic: this was the time when conscription was set up (to defend the Nation) and the Marseillaise was written. The disaster of 1870 and the restoration of the Republic also sparked a revival of the national sentiment: a "revanchiste" attitude vis a vis Germany but also creation of the public school system with an aim at unifying France under the French language and eradicating regional languages.

Economy/science/cross-border cooperation: well, 1800-1900 is too long a time span in the French history. At the turn of the century, Napoleon I killed the Republic, established his Empire and ruined the country (and its adult population) over fifteen years of wars. Then: restoration of the Monarchy, another revolution in 1830, another Monarchy, another Revolution in 1848, a short-lived 2nd Republic until 1849 and Napoleon III as an emperor until the ill-fated war against Prussia in 1870.

Paradoxically, the last part of the 19th century, after the defeat of 1870, was probably the most prosperous and stable period for the country (the third Republic lasted 70 years, a very long time in French history). This is when French scientists like Pasteur or the Curie did most of their work, Jules Verne published his successful (and science filled) novels, when Paris became renowned worldwide as "the City of Light".

So I suppose the best answer for your friend is: depends on which half of the century. during the first half, the political situation was too unstable to favor much scientific progress, although this didn't stop people like Ampère, Fourier or Laplace.

But after 1870, the French economy was in a better shape and the French public became definitely more enthusiastic about science and technology. Jules Verne's novel do reflect this public attitude.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

 5. was there much cross-border collaboration between scientists between the two countries during that period.

19th centruy science was in general a small world. Collaborations does not from my understanding appear to have taken much notice of borders, though lack of speedy communications tended to keep things local, as in within your own university. Last half of the century, and in particular the last quarter sees a rapid expansion of telegraphs and railroads. In the same period comes the first scientific journals, the first books indexing articles and books and an upswing in international conferences and stuff like World fairs (which back then was where any aspiring nation sent scientists to copy from the best).

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