# The mundane unrealistic details that take you out of the batshit fantastically unrealistic setting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755 "2015-03-23T02:44:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/121 "2015-03-25T22:58:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > To be fair, she actually does grow demon legs at one point. > > The series gets kind of weird. Yes, at one point her own legs in _tadash_, and another time she has Mia’s white legs. There is a whole lot of cringe associated with the Susannah character and her multiple personalities. If the _Dark Tower_ ever gets made into a film or series, it will be a challenge to make Detta Walker’s dialect not seem ridiculous. King also glosses over her ambulatory issues when she doesn’t have a wheelchair. It would be pretty funny if scrabbles like a crab all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/122 "2015-03-26T01:05:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I like **Bricker’s** fanwank of it, but mine is slightly different: the computers are **crazy assholes**. Their use of humans as batteries makes no sense from a physics perspective, but if they need to justify to themselves keeping humans locked in this shitty world, and if they’re crazy assholes, the stupid battery justification might work. My theory is that the Matrix is just the Machines taking the Zeroth Law and concluding that was the best way of protecting humanity from itself. Remember the Matrix was originally Paradise as opposed to a simulation of the real world, but it’s inhabitants simply couldn’t tolerate utopia. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/123 "2015-03-26T01:36:19Z")
Soren’s plan to get back to the Nexus in Star Trek Generations. Why not just get a ship and fly into it? I hate when a character acts out of character like that Why in the world did he think his plan to get the Nexus to run into him was better than a plan _he already knew worked_? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/124 "2015-03-26T01:44:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Soren’s plan to get back to the Nexus in Star Trek Generations. Why not just get a ship and fly into it? I hate when a character acts out of character like that Why in the world did he think his plan to get the Nexus to run into him was better than a plan _he already knew worked_? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but didn’t the Nexus trash the first two ships at the beginning of the movie before they could get in? And part of the newest Enterprise? Soren was probably thinking a planet was more substantial. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/125 "2015-03-26T04:31:06Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Osgiliath is a perfect example of what the OP is asking about. > > In Jackson’s movies, Frodo and Sam use the sewers of Osgiliath to cross undetected under the river. > > Except … why is there a sewer UNDER THE RIVER? Where is it flowing to? You build sewers to drain INTO rivers, not underneath them. > > My wife has heard me rant about this many times. That’s what bothers you about the Osgiliath scene? Not Frodo deciding to go _face to fucking face_ with a Nazgul, thus revealing the location of the One Ring? Forgetting that the _entire fucking point_ of the Fellowship of the Ring was for him to sneak in to Mordor _undetected_? But it’s okay, because it apparently slipped the Nazgul’s mind to report back to Sauron, “Dude. I just spotted one of those Hobbit guys you’re always obsessing about, doing some weird shit in Osgiliath. Looked like he was headed east -y’know, towards Minas Morgul. Thought you’d want to know.” I guess that’s not a mundane detail, but it was the only difference between the books and the movie that really really pissed me off. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/126 "2015-03-26T10:19:24Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > And the one whre the Evil Overlord ™ is killing all the people in the “land”… so who is he gonna rule and how will he suport himself and his minions without workers to produce food or at least pay taxes… You mean like Pol Pot, Mao or Stalin? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/127 "2015-03-26T12:34:42Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I guess that’s not a mundane detail, but it was the only difference between the books and the movie that really really pissed me off. Sam: We’re not even supposed to be here… ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/128 "2015-03-26T13:23:21Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > That’s what bothers you about the Osgiliath scene? Not Frodo deciding to go _face to fucking face_ with a Nazgul, thus revealing the location of the One Ring? Forgetting that the _entire fucking point_ of the Fellowship of the Ring was for him to sneak in to Mordor _undetected_? > > But it’s okay, because it apparently slipped the Nazgul’s mind to report back to Sauron, “Dude. I just spotted one of those Hobbit guys you’re always obsessing about, doing some weird shit in Osgiliath. Looked like he was headed east -y’know, towards Minas Morgul. Thought you’d want to know.” > > I guess that’s not a mundane detail, but it was the only difference between the books and the movie that really really pissed me off. Well, Frodo wasn’t quite in his right mind at the moment. And for all we know, the Nazgul _did_ report back to Sauron, and Sauron assumed that he was taking the ring to Minas Tirith. I can’t remember if it’s explicitly mentioned in the movie, but I know the book flat out says that Sauron would never have imagined that anyone would try to destroy the ring instead of using it. He just didn’t get it until he saw Frodo put the ring on right at the Cracks of Doom. Still, I really didn’t care for the Osgiliath bit in the movie at all. The whole thing seemed overly dramatic and a bastardization of Faramir’s character. But I didn’t consider any resulting Nazgul intelligence as a plot hole. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/129 "2015-03-26T14:12:26Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You mean like Pol Pot, Mao or Stalin? That wouldn’t describe the latter two, if you look at the numbers. It’s not even close. That’s not really a point in their favor as such, but let’s keep it in perspective. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/130 "2015-03-26T14:54:49Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > That wouldn’t describe the latter two, if you look at the numbers. It’s not even close. It’s not about absolute numbers, it’s about evil dictators not necessarily thinking things through (although I’d argue that the _Holodomor_ was precisely this, even more than the Killing Fields.) ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/131 "2015-03-27T04:23:45Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Yes, at one point her own legs in _tadash_, and another time she has Mia’s white legs. > > There is a whole lot of cringe associated with the Susannah character and her multiple personalities. If the _Dark Tower_ ever gets made into a film or series, it will be a challenge to make Detta Walker’s dialect not seem ridiculous. King also glosses over her ambulatory issues when she doesn’t have a wheelchair. It would be pretty funny if scrabbles like a crab all over the place. yeah, I was thinking maybe she had leapt to her feet at one of those times, but apparently not. Well, I guess this was a win for King in my case, because I was too shocked at Eddie’s death to notice this huge faux pas. Finding a suitable double amputee black actress would be IMO the second biggest problem in filming this series. The first would be, assuming the studio wants to make and release one film a year rather than film all of them at once before seeing if the first one flops, that you would need a new Jake for each film. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/132 "2015-03-27T05:52:52Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Finding a suitable double amputee black actress would be IMO the second biggest problem in filming this series. Or they could digitally remove her lower legs, a la Gary Sinise in _Forrest Gump_. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/133 "2015-03-27T07:10:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve said it before – Steven Spielberg utterly shattered by Suspension of Disbelief at the beginning of **Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom** when he has Indy, Willi, and Short Round jump out of the falling plane in an inflatable raft, which falls none too softly on the snow, careens down the snowpack of the edge of a cliff into a river, lands in the river and goes through roaring rapids. And nobody gets hurt. There should be multiple broken bones at a minimum, and a triple death more likely, but they have not a scratch. Tested by Mythbusters, found to be possible. The jump from the plane, at least. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NODvOx0V57E/hqdefault.jpg "Safe Descent without a Parachute: POSSIBLE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NODvOx0V57E) ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/134 "2015-03-27T07:58:29Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > So basically fantasy authors can’t use any words of phrases invented since the printing press or you’ll be annoyed. Well, Tolkien was always very meticulous about only using old idioms, but he was an etymologist, so that should be no surprise. What always jarred for me about Middle Earth was the tobacco. And the potatoes. Two species from the New World in a world that has no analogue for the Americas. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/135 "2015-03-27T08:06:48Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Two species from the New World in a world that has no analogue for the Americas. There are other continents westwards. The Numernoreans sailed to them looking for a route back to Valinor. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/136 "2015-03-27T17:57:13Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Well, Tolkien was always very meticulous about only using old idioms, but he was an etymologist, so that should be no surprise. > > What always jarred for me about Middle Earth was the tobacco. And the potatoes. Two species from the New World in a world that has no analogue for the Americas. Pipeweed, not tobacco, but in any case Middle Earth isnt Europe. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/137 "2015-03-27T18:35:18Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Well, Tolkien was always very meticulous about only using old idioms, but he was an etymologist, so that should be no surprise. > > What always jarred for me about Middle Earth was the tobacco. And the potatoes. Two species from the New World in a world that has no analogue for the Americas. Tolkien also, despite his dislike for and distrust of science, has his Wizards know about gunpowder\* and that white light is composed of other colors. His Middle-earth also shows a debt to paleontology and archaeology – the flying mounts of the Nazgul are described as being very like pterosaurs (although not depicted as such in the Jackson film, they certainly do look like that in the Brothers Hildebrant illustrations, and in Ralph Bakshi’s _Lord of the Rings_ – they were following Tolkien’s descriptions very closely). Furthermore,m Lake-Town (Esgaroth), being built on pilings extending over the Long Lake is a cdead ringer for early 20th century reconstructions of the supposed Swiss Lake-Towns from prehistoric times: > **[Switzerland's Prehistory: Stone Age, Lake Dwellings](http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/prehistory-lake-dwellings.html)** > > Prehistory of Switzerland: Ice Age, Stone Age, Neolithic Revolution, Lake Dwellers, Bronze Age, Iron Age When I was a kid, depictions of these were ubiquitous. There was a diorama of one at the Field Museum in Chicago. I understand that the reconstruction is now thought to be erroneous – now they think that the houses were built on the edge of the lake, and that the supposed house-supports were actually a protective palisade. Whatever the reality, I have no doubt that Tolkien drew his image of Lake-Town from these reconstructions of prehistoric villages. \*Gandalf _must_, of course, have known about gunpowder and pyrotechnics if he made fireworks, which he was famous for. Most people don’t think about fireworks being completely anachronistic if the world of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth is thought to be a close analogy to our own Middle Ages. Saruman has gunpowder, too, which he gives to his Uruk-Hai to use in blowing a breach in Helm’s Deep. I guess we can all be thankful that Tolkien didn’t see fit to let them use nuclear or thermonuclear devices. Or antimatter bombs. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/138 "2015-03-27T18:49:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Tolkien also, despite his dislike for and distrust of science, has his Wizards know about gunpowder\* > > \*Gandalf _must_, of course, have known about gunpowder and pyrotechnics if he made fireworks, which he was famous for. Most people don’t think about fireworks being completely anachronistic if the world of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth is thought to be a close analogy to our own Middle Ages. Saruman has gunpowder, too, which he gives to his Uruk-Hai to use in blowing a breach in Helm’s Deep. Gunpowder was used in China for hundreds of years for fireworks before being made into any sort of effective weapon. Quite possible the known formula was one of those that didnt make for a decent weapon and or Sulfur was rare. It also seems like the only two who had made use of it was the two Wizards, so maybe it wasnt commonly known or needed magic to work. And if you read the descriptions of Gandalfs fireworks, it certainly appears he used more than just skill at pyrotechnics to make some of them. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/139 "2015-03-27T18:56:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Gunpowder was used in China for hundreds of years for fireworks before being made into any sort of effective weapon. Quite possible the known formula was one of those that didnt make for a decent weapon and or Sulfur was rare. It also seems like the only two who had made use of it was the two Wizards, so maybe it wasnt commonly known or needed magic to work. And if you read the descriptions of Gandalfs fireworks, it certainly appears he used more than just skill at pyrotechnics to make some of them. You can fanwank however you want, but gunpowder was not a Thing in medieval Europe or earlier (fantasies like **300** to the contrary notwithstanding), which is my point. I think Tolkien just liked the idea of Gandalf benignly using gunpowder for fun and contrasting it with Saruman’s destructive use of it. Even if he aided it with magic\*, Tolkien still called it “fireworks”. He could’ve as easily simply called what Gandalf and Saruman did “magic”, and described it thus. For some reason he tied it firmly to gunpowder by his terminology. \*Gandalf certainly seems to have used magic to help shape his “smoke rings”, as described in the book, and as depicted in the film. By the way, here are more of those Swiss Lake Village reconstructions: [https://search.yahoo.com/search;\_ylt=AwrBTzo2oRVVShkAWwRXNyoA;\_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA3lmcC10LTI1MgRncHJpZAM3V1BGMzhCVlF1eTVOSUhzZnNacTVBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMwBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzI5BHF1ZXJ5A1N3aXNzIHByZWhpc3RvcmljIGxha2UgdnRvd25zBHRfc3RtcAMxNDI3NDgwOTY4?p=Swiss+prehistoric+lake+vtowns&fr2=sb-top-search&fr=yfp-t-252&fp=1](https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrBTzo2oRVVShkAWwRXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA3lmcC10LTI1MgRncHJpZAM3V1BGMzhCVlF1eTVOSUhzZnNacTVBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMwBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzI5BHF1ZXJ5A1N3aXNzIHByZWhpc3RvcmljIGxha2UgdnRvd25zBHRfc3RtcAMxNDI3NDgwOTY4?p=Swiss+prehistoric+lake+vtowns&fr2=sb-top-search&fr=yfp-t-252&fp=1) [https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;\_ylt=AwrB8punpxVVeyIAlA2JzbkF;\_ylu=X3oDMTIzOXRoM2gyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM3OGU0YmRiMDk4NTU4OGNjNGM2NDhmNmQ1NTdiMzVhZARncG9zAzM3BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DSwiss%2BPrehistoric%2BLake%2BVtowns%26fr%3Dyfp-t-252%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D37&w=323&h=304&imgurl=www.kipling.org.uk%2Fpix%2Flake\_village2.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kipling.org.uk%2Frg\_neolithic1.htm&size=38.0KB&name=lakes+The+first+known+\prehistoric\<%2Fb\>+\lake\<%2Fb\>+village+was+uncovered+in+\Lake\<%2Fb\>+...&p=swiss+prehistoric+lake+towns&oid=78e4bdb0985588cc4c648f6d557b35ad&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-252&rw=swiss+prehistoric+lake+towns&tt=lakes+The+first+known+\prehistoric\<%2Fb\>+\lake\<%2Fb\>+village+was+uncovered+in+\Lake\<%2Fb\>+...&b=0&ni=288&no=37&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11bdnrdir&sigb=13cb4fbi3&sigi=1186t83v3&sigt=12t7qdad8&sign=12t7qdad8&.crumb=iFnxBO8CwGG&fr=yfp-t-252](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8punpxVVeyIAlA2JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzOXRoM2gyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM3OGU0YmRiMDk4NTU4OGNjNGM2NDhmNmQ1NTdiMzVhZARncG9zAzM3BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DSwiss%2BPrehistoric%2BLake%2BVtowns%26fr%3Dyfp-t-252%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D37&w=323&h=304&imgurl=www.kipling.org.uk%2Fpix%2Flake_village2.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kipling.org.uk%2Frg_neolithic1.htm&size=38.0KB&name=lakes+The+first+known+%3Cb%3Eprehistoric%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Elake%3C%2Fb%3E+village+was+uncovered+in+%3Cb%3ELake%3C%2Fb%3E+...&p=swiss+prehistoric+lake+towns&oid=78e4bdb0985588cc4c648f6d557b35ad&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-252&rw=swiss+prehistoric+lake+towns&tt=lakes+The+first+known+%3Cb%3Eprehistoric%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Elake%3C%2Fb%3E+village+was+uncovered+in+%3Cb%3ELake%3C%2Fb%3E+...&b=0&ni=288&no=37&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11bdnrdir&sigb=13cb4fbi3&sigi=1186t83v3&sigt=12t7qdad8&sign=12t7qdad8&.crumb=iFnxBO8CwGG&fr=yfp-t-252) [Yahoo Image Search](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pm8pxVVVDIAmBeJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzZWdsOXJjBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM3N2Y1MGMyNDgyOWY1Mjk3ZWQ4ZjcyYjg0ZTJmZDU4YQRncG9zAzg1BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dswiss%2Bprehistoric%2Blake%2Btowns%26fr%3Dyfp-t-252%26ri%3D37%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D85&w=526&h=344&imgurl=middle-earth.xenite.org%2Ffiles%2F2011%2F12%2Fjm-tyler-reconstructed-laketown-02.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmiddle-earth.xenite.org%2F2011%2F12%2F06%2Fwhat-was-j-r-r-tolkiens-inspiration-for-lake-town-in-the-hobbit%2F&size=41.1KB&name=)…+of+a+reconstructed+%3Cb%3Elake%3C%2Fb%3E+dwelling+from+a+%3Cb%3Eprehistoric%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3ESwiss%3C%2Fb%3E+village&p=swiss+prehistoric+lake+towns&oid=77f50c24829f5297ed8f72b84e2fd58a&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-252&tt=…+of+a+reconstructed+%3Cb%3Elake%3C%2Fb%3E+dwelling+from+a+%3Cb%3Eprehistoric%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3ESwiss%3C%2Fb%3E+village&b=61&ni=21&no=85&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=13avj3mo6&sigb=13ot4r3qi&sigi=12co59lgu&sigt=12qg71de1&sign=12qg71de1&.crumb=iFnxBO8CwGG&fr=yfp-t-252 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/140 "2015-03-27T19:01:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > You can fanwank however you want, but gunpowder was not a Thing in medieval Europe or earlier (fantasies like **300** to the contrary notwithstanding), which is my point. Roger Bacon and Marcus Graecus had fireworks in around 1267- 1300, so that’s certainly medieval. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755.md?page=8)