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La Langue: Le “yaourtophone” — quand la France remplace les boîtes de conserve par des pots de yaourt

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France’s yaourtophone: a yogurt-pot string phone. DIY steps, kid physics, and French phrases from “Allô, tu m’entends ?”

If you’ve ever made the classic “tin can telephone” as a kid—two cans, one very serious piece of string, and the absolute belief that you were basically inventing Verizon—France has the same thing… but with a twist that feels so French it should come with a tiny scarf.

Meet: le yaourtophone.

Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a “telephone” made with two empty yogurt pots (pots de yaourt) and a taut string. You poke a hole in the bottom of each pot, thread the string through, knot it, pull the string tight, and your voice vibrations travel along the string to the other pot. (cite-sciences.fr)

And the part that made me laugh out loud (in a very foreigner-in-France way): in France, yogurt pots are the classic DIY material, so people often call this a yaourtophone—even though the more “official-ish” name is téléphone à ficelle (“string telephone”). (Vikidia)

The tiny revelation I did not expect

In my head, I walked into this thinking: “String phone = silly kid craft.”
Then I read French explanations and realized: it’s a perfect little culture-and-language capsule. France doesn’t just describe the object (téléphone à ficelle)… it also lovingly names it after what’s actually in your recycling bin (yaourtophone, because… yaourt). (Vikidia)

Also: the phrase that suddenly felt like a superpower in my mouth was this one:

“Allô, tu m’entends ?”
I’ve said it on the phone before, sure. But somehow saying it into a yogurt pot feels like unlocking the deluxe French experience. (Espace des Sciences)

How to make a yaourtophone (French kid engineering, very serious)

You need:

  • 2 pots de yaourt (or sturdy cups/gobelets)

  • 3–5 mètres de ficelle (kitchen string works)

  • Something to make holes (a pin/needle/compass tip)

  • Scissors

  • A friend (highly recommended) (Espace des Sciences)

Steps:

  1. Perce un petit trou au centre du fond de chaque pot (poke a small hole in each bottom).

  2. Thread the string through the hole from the outside to the inside.

  3. Tie a big knot inside each pot so the string can’t slip back out. (cite-sciences.fr)

  4. Walk apart until the string is bien tendue (nice and tight).

  5. One person speaks into the pot; the other puts an ear near theirs. Voilà.

Safety note (a very “adult in the room” moment): if you’re doing this with kids, the hole-poking part wants calm hands and supervision.

The pro tip every French kid scientist knows

It works best when the string is really tight.
If the string is slack, the vibrations don’t transmit well. And if you pinch the string, you basically “mute” the call because you’re damping the vibrations. (wikidebrouillard.org)

So yes—when you joked about “tin cans and strings,” the French version is basically:
“pots de yaourt et ficelle.”
Same concept, more dairy.

Mini French vocab you can actually use in real life

Here’s your pocket language kit for the next time you’re standing near a recycling bin feeling oddly inspired:

  • un pot de yaourt = yogurt pot

  • une ficelle = string

  • percer un trou = to poke/drill a hole

  • faire un nœud = to tie a knot

  • tendre la ficelle = to pull the string taut

  • ça marche ! = it works!

  • ça ne marche plus… = it doesn’t work anymore…

  • arrête de pincer ! = stop pinching! (critical yaourtophone diplomacy)

And the star phrase:

Why this is secretly an amazing French-learning exercise (yes, even in Aix)

Because it turns speaking practice into a game—and games lower the “I’m embarrassed” volume in our brains.

Try this in a park, at home, or even as a class icebreaker:

A1 (survival mode, proud of you)

  • Salut ! Ça va ?

  • Oui, ça va.

  • Tu m’entends ? / Oui !

A2 (you have opinions now)

  • Attends, la ficelle n’est pas assez tendue.

  • D’accord, je recule.

  • Ah voilà, ça marche mieux !

B1 (you begin narrating your life like a French documentary)

  • Quand je pince la ficelle, le son s’arrête complètement.

  • C’est fou comme ça marche bien avec une ficelle bien tendue.

B2 (you casually sound like someone who reads science articles for fun)

  • Les vibrations se transmettent le long de la ficelle et font vibrer l’autre pot. (wikidebrouillard.org)

  • Dès qu’il y a une perte de tension, on perd en qualité sonore.

Advanced (you become the professor you once feared)

  • Explain it like a mini-lesson: vibration, tension, damping, materials—then ask someone else to summarize it back to you in French.

A small curated rabbit hole (if you want to go full “teacher’s pet”)

If you want deeper instructions and the science explanation, these are genuinely helpful:

Your turn (comments, please, I’m begging you like a person holding two yogurt pots)

Have you heard yaourtophone before? Or did your region/family call it something else?
And if you’re not French: what did you call this as a kid?

Drop a comment with:

  1. Your childhood name for it

  2. The funniest “phone conversation” you’d stage with it

  3. One sentence you’ll try in French the next time: “Allô, tu m’entends ?”

Bonus points if you confess (like I will) that you still feel 9 years old when it works.

Location: France

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