The Past Speaks

On 13 September 1993, the French government issued a decree specifying how the baguette de tradition française should be made. To celebrate the anniversary of the important milestone, Google.fr is today greeting users with the following image.

I find it incongruous that the French subsidiary of a company that is celebrated around the world for its disruptive innovations should commemorate the promulgation of a regulation constraining how bakers can make a particular type of bread. It’s also odd that they are marking the 22nd anniversary, since one normally marks anniversaries in years ending in zero or maybe five.

You can read the actual decree (Décret n°93-1074 du 13 septembre 1993) here.