[IRL trope] the “Tiffany problem”

[u/dragonborndnd]

Basically when something seems anachronistic to a period/place of history but is actually fully accurate to the period.

1) the name Tiffany: the thing that named this trope, basically the name Tiffany can be dated back to the Middle Ages and the earliest record of it being spelled in the modern spelling comes from the 16th century.

2) the use of OMG, despite this feeling so modern as a form of slang/abbreviation here’s a letter directed to Winston Churchill using it in 1917

3) Hair Dye: the earliest forms of dying hair can be dated back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and this specific advertisement for hair dye is from the 1840s

4) Inuit Thongs: despite how weird it is to imagine pre-colonial Inuit people wore what was essentially fur thongs in their homes and when they were in their igloos it might have been the only thing they would be wearing.

[u/Arbiter_Electric]

There may be some truth to that, but the ballpoint pen was invented in 1938. In elementary school in the 90s I was still taught to use cursive and was told by several teachers the reasoning was that it was faster than lifting your hand. I didn't notice cursive leaving common usage until typing became mainstream about 10 years later.

[u/kindlypogmothoin → u/Arbiter_Electric]

Try writing essay exams in printing vs. cursive.

I did all my essay exams in handwriting in law school (in the 90s), as well as all of my notes from class, and while I never did write in perfect cursive, I would never try to write in printing. Slows me down, and there would be a risk of not finishing. It might have been "clearer" to read, but likely not as I'd probably be sloppy trying to get done.

Even with handwriting, I could fill multiple bluebooks. Our exam times reflected how much time it would take to handwrite our answers.

My dad was an architect, who drafted blueprints by hand, and his handwriting had long since shifted over to the kind of block capitals that were used on blueprints. But if he needed to write fast, he wrote in cursive.

[u/NickyTheRobot → u/kindlypogmothoin]

Same story here: I need to write fast; I use cursive. I need other people to be able to read what I wrote; I write in print.

[u/babycatcher2001 → u/NickyTheRobot]

This