Jules Allix (9 September 1818 in

Fontenay-le-Comte Fontenay-le-Comte (; Poitevin: ''Funtenaes'' or ''Fintenè'') is a commune and subprefecture in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France. In 2018, it had a population of 13,302, while its functional area had a po ...

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) was a feminist, socialist, political activist and eccentric inventor. A

communard The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards ...

, he was mayor of the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth"). The arrondissement, ...

Political activism

In the Commune he inspired the creation of the "Comité des Femmes de la Rue d'Arras", which held a non-communist socialist view that emphasized the rights of women. The significance of the group is a matter of dispute, but it seems to have failed at several of its goals.

Inventions and experiments

Jules Allix is also known for his connection to several inventions and experiments deemed unusual. One of these being the "snail telegraph" (see

pasilalinic-sympathetic compass The pasilalinic-sympathetic compass, also referred to as the snail telegraph, was a contraption built to test the pseudo-scientific hypothesis that snails create a permanent telepathic link when they mate. The device was developed by French occu ...

). The idea behind it stated that

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...

s, once put in contact, remain in sympathetic communication. Therefore, snails could be used to send messages through this communication."The Snail Telegraph" in Historic Oddities and Strange Events By Sabine Baring-Gould, pgs 189-198
/ref> During the Franco-Prussian War, he suggested that women be armed with tubes of

prussic acid Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an ...

, with which to kill the attacking Prussians.

Political activism

Inventions and experiments

References

See also