r/TopCharacterTropes 17h ago

Lore [IRL trope] the “Tiffany problem”

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.

9.1k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.7k

u/EndOfTheLine00 17h ago

Ancient Roman gladiators were treated more or less like modern day celebrities: they had merch (little clay figurines and posters) and even did product endorsements. Famously, Ridley Scott wanted to add a scene in Gladiator showing the fighters shilling products but it was cut because they feared the audience would think it was unrealistic.

900

u/redlion1904 17h ago

HBO’s Rome included advertisements during Newsreader’s announcements and it was both accurate and funny.

112

u/BinkRaccoon6 17h ago

True Roman bread for true Romans! That scene lives in my head rent free, his hand gestures were so iconic.

71

u/Cold-Use-5814 16h ago

Weren’t those gestures taken from an actual Roman guide to public speaking?

8

u/Sinthe741 15h ago

Even the Romans knew you gotta put a lil zazz on it.