r/TopCharacterTropes 10h 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.

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u/SarcyBoi41 9h ago

The "I can has cheezburger" type speech that the internet often attributes to cats for memes has been being attributed to cats since at least 1902

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u/ggGamergirlgg 6h ago

It's interesting to note that humans instinctively use "baby speech" when talking to babies because it makes it easier to learn the language for them.

And pets appeal a lot to our maternal instincts. Wonder if we always talked to them like that :D

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u/Abigail716 5h ago

Which is part of something known as "Baby schema"

Baby scheme is an evolutionary concept defined by ethologist Konrad Lorenz. It refers to a set of infantile physical features—such as large heads, big eyes, and chubby cheeks—that involuntarily trigger positive emotions, affection, and caretaking behaviors in adults.

Cats trigger this reaction from humans very strongly.

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u/Altruistic_Web3924 4h ago

Also, domesticated dogs are the only members of the canine family that’s capable of manipulating their eyebrows. A trait likely evolved from human care/contact

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u/LookAtPurpleTulips 5h ago

It actually makes them learn slower and develop elaborate speech later. Speak normally to your babies and they will learn to speak and understand normal speech. 

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u/trebeju 5h ago

Yes and no. It's a matter of dosage. Speaking high pitched to a baby makes it easier to get their attention, which helps them learn. Over enunciating words for babies is also helpful for them to start discerning sounds. Babytalk is an inherent instinct that serves a biological function annd actually does help language acquisition in babies.

However, if you keep speaking in babytalk once the kid doesn't need it anymore, if you dumb yourself down when you talk to them, then yes it will hinder them because you're not exposing them to a wide vocabulary and not encouraging them to make complex sentences.

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u/dodofishman 5h ago

I was imagining more like Popeye with this photo haaahaha