Boddy believes that there are currently roughly 400 roundabouts across Canada and the United States, as Canada and the United States slowly catch up to a highway design that has been popular in the United Kingdom and France for decades. The first true roundabout was built in 1672 in London, England when John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, hired French engineer Nicolas de Houin to build him a new home near St. James's Palace. The duke wanted a house with no straight streets or avenues, but a circuitous route so vehicles could be turned around without having to stop at every corner. Today, this roundabout is still intact and can be seen from the A10. The term "roundabout" came from the English word "circuit", which refers to the path that vehicles must travel before being allowed to enter the center of the roundabout. Although today's roundabouts are generally based on the English model, they were originally designed by De Houin for the Parisian traffic circle he also created for the King's Way, a road leading from Versailles to Paris. This first French roundabout was called a "carrefour à sonneries" (or "noisy crossroads") because it had bells attached to each vehicle that rang as they entered and exited the circle.