Post
by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Sat June 13th, 2009, 10:09 pm
[quote=""Celia Hayes""]I actually looked up the styrofoam reference, and lo and behold, it had been invented round and about 1942, but the only thing it was used for immediately and for some time afterwards was in life-rafts for the Coast Guard... so, no, it wouldn't have been in use in Occupied France two years later.
The book with the oxen gaffe, and the running water inside an 1850s kitchen really disappointed me because the writer was (I believe) a professor of history. Honestly, when I want serious 19th century period detail, I have better luck with going to reenactor groups.
[/quote]
I think when I was in the 'guard in '75 they still had some of those around-- and the radars we fixed were pretty ancient, too. We had one that was so old that the tech manual was classified super-top-secret -- we had to keep it under lock and key, I kid you not -- left over from the early days of WWII.
As for re-enactor groups, collectively they are a positive mine of useful information. Each person in ours must completely research their character, and it's amazing what they come up with, especially when you add it all together.
Anachronisms with animals leap out and bang me in the face. Too many writers don't bother to do their research there--no concept what it is like to depend on your animals for transportation and sustenance, and how very individual each creature is.