It is illegal to name a pig Napoleon in France
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French law prohibits giving a pig the name Napoleon. The law dates to the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, when the Emperor reportedly took personal offence at insulting references to his name, and regulations were passed to prevent mockery of his person — including via the naming of livestock. The regulation outlasted the emperor by centuries. George Orwell's use of the name Napoleon for the pig in Animal Farm (1945) was deliberate — and would technically have been illegal to publish in France at the time of writing.
An emperor's vanity generated a law still technically on the books 200 years after his death. George Orwell picked the pig's name knowing exactly what he was doing.
The Science Behind It
French law prohibits giving a pig the name Napoleon. The law dates to the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, when the Emperor reportedly took personal offence at insulting references to his name, and regulations were passed to prevent mockery of his person — including via the naming of livestock. The regulation outlasted the emperor by centuries. George Orwell's use of the name Napoleon for the pig in Animal Farm (1945) was deliberate — and would technically have been illegal to publish in France at the time of writing.
Why Your Brain Finds This Hard to Believe
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Read our Editorial Guidelines →“It's illegal to name a pig Napoleon in France. The law dates to Napoleon's era. George Orwell knew exactly what he was doing.”