Pâte a choux

Someone on one of the boards was wondering where the hell this came from - like, who on earth would think of boiling flour and butter and then adding eggs? I was not able to chase the thread down, not having taken notes, but when I was cruising through my Larousse Gastronomique tonight, just for fun, under the heading of Algeria I found the Culinary Specialties of North Africa, and the first entry was Aâsida – Flour boiled in water, mixed with butter (!!!) So the lovely Burgundian snack Gougeres, our trendy profiteroles, and the ancient and honorable creampuff are all descended from a North African treat! To which I can only say, That's cool...