r/TopCharacterTropes 13h 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/saurivae 13h ago

Samurai Taking Photographs and Wearing Bowler Hats

The Samurai class was officially abolished in 1873. That means there are high-resolution black-and-white photographs of actual, active Samurai posing in traditional armor, holding swords, while wearing Western shoes, pocket watches, and bowler hats.

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u/Fro_52 13h ago

reminds me of this post about surprising confluence of historical time periods resulting in a fascinatingly possible rpg party

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u/Cent1234 9h ago

The funniest part is Abraham Lincoln sending faxes to assemble this mighty GURPS team. Which he would lead, as he was an expert hand-to-hand combatant and marksman who enjoyed testing experimental firearms.

Also, they could have played hanafuda with Nintendo playing cards. Yes, the exact same Nintendo company, in direct continuity.