Not many people may know this but one of London's leading ladies and major tourist attractions wouldn't be where it was today if it wasn't for the Swiss. Today's addition to the YOYWYW banner is Madame Tussaud, or Marie Grosholtz as she was known before she married Mr Tussaud.
Marie learned the art of wax modelling at a very early age in Berne when her mother went to work for physician Phillipe Curtius, who was the foremost modeller of his time. Marie, who was French but took Swiss citizenship, followed Curtius to Paris when King Louis XVI invited him to France to make models of the rich and famous and she inherited his business when he died.
After marrying into the Tussaud clan, Marie emigrated to London in 1802 and started touring Britain with her wax models before setting up shop in London in 1833. Today Madame Tussauds can be found in London, New York, Las Vegas, Washington, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Berlin.
If you've ever done the touristy bit and parted with the ridiculous £22.50 then just think, you'd never have been there if it wasn't for the Swiss.
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