Who was Jules Lenoir?

According to legend, Jules Lenoir was the infamous man who invented pétanque in the early 1900s (at least according to legend, but we think it's probably true). Before pétanque, the game of boules required a running start. Lenoir had injured his arm (or his leg?) and was unable to play the traditional version of boules. Lenoir instead began to play a new version of the game, in which players remained in a small circle and threw the boules from a standing position. This new version of the game became known as pétanque, which comes from the Provençal word "pès tancats" meaning "feet together".

Petanque quickly became popular in France, and soon spread to other parts of Europe. In 1958, the first World Petanque Championship was held in Brussels, Belgium, and since then the game has continued to grow in popularity around the world. Today, pétanque is played in over 50 countries. Merci Monsieur Lenoir for your creativity.