# What was the most anachronistic thing you've seen in a fictional work that wasn't intentional or an accident? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956 "2021-11-08T03:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/301 "2022-03-01T22:25:06Z")
Yeah, it should have been a PS2 in that era, and probably something like Metal Gear Solid 3, or one of the Grand Theft Auto games. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/302 "2022-03-01T23:18:07Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > As an expert on the history of bagpipes, I can give you other examples where these are portrayed inaccurately. Some of this would be pedantic and I would be speaking from a position of someone who knows a lot about an extremely narrow topic; all the same, I’ll allow myself to mention one example here. The 1948 David Niven movie _Bonnie Prince Charlie_ about the 1745/6 Jacobite rising has several scenes with bagpipes in them. The first one is when the clans rally to Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s side; various clans are shown arriving, led by pipe bands, each band playing a different tune. This is completely wrong. At that time, there were no pipe bands; pipers seem rarely, to have and besides the Chief’s piper, the clan as a fighting unite may not necessarily have been even able to rally so many pipers at a time. The instruments used were specially made for the film; they are all lacking one drone (the three pipes that rest on the shoulder - the ones in the film have only two), which was presumably done to attempt to make them more historical; however, the pipes are otherwise turned like any other modern instrument, rather than the simpler style of basically all pipes made prior to circa 1780. Moreover, at that time, the number of drones would have varied, with some pipers already having all three; I could be even more specific in explaining this but in general, what was shown in the film is _not_ an accurate portrayal of how the average Highland bagpipe looked in 1745. Also the music they play in that scene (presumably recorded in a studio) is modern marches ( “The Hills of Glenorchy”, “Hot Punch”, “The Haughs of Cromdale”, “Kenmure’s Up and Awa’, Willie”, and “Black Donald’s March”), whereas in those days, they would probably have played _piobaireachd_ , a distinctive form of music that was mainly composed specifically for the pipes and sounds different from a modern military march, My goodness, you sound like my late spouse - he was fascinated by bagpipes. One day we should discuss the nuances of that instrument. He went on for some time about the issues in Braveheart. Also shushed me in the theater when I said “those aren’t highland pipes - they’re uillean!” just a little too loudly. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/303 "2022-03-01T23:27:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not Europe. > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > Add in those new fads of tobacco, coffee, and tea and people started having really mucked-up teeth from something like 1550 onward and it just got worse from there. > > > > > Before that, and in places like the Americas and Australia before the Europeans arrived, you had crooked teeth because of the lack of braces, and they’d get yellowed with age, but yeah, in general better teeth than the invaders. > > Nope. Stone ground grain will wear down teeth to nubs. There are skeletons who apparently died from abscessed teeth. A lot of people didn’t live long enough to grind their teeth down to nubs. I was making a general, not universal, statement. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/304 "2022-03-01T23:51:17Z")
I learned how to play the bagpipes when I was 19. I got the chanter okay, but I didn’t stick with it long enough to develop the capacity to keep the bag full. I haven’t seen the movie in decades, I remember a scene in _ **Mary, Queen of Scots** _ where a piper plays to celebrate a victory over some rebels. Was that at all accurate? (I’ve been told the movie as a whole is about as accurate as _ **Braveheart** _.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/305 "2022-03-02T01:44:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > A lot of people didn’t live long enough to grind their teeth down to nubs. I was making a general, not universal, statement. True. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/306 "2022-03-02T03:57:05Z")
OK, so I just saw an episode where an actress was going to audition for The Sound of Music. So, 1964/1965. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/307 "2022-03-04T01:06:51Z")
My GF is Muslim and has mentioned this - it’s basically only something that very religious people adhere to, women do it if they want, and usually do get someone else to do it (it’s physically difficult to do it yourself properly anyway). Men pretty much never do it. May be more likely to be done during Ramadan. And it’s very very rare to meet a Muslim woman who doesn’t pluck her eyebrows. There are specific brow shops aimed at mostly Muslim clientele. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/308 "2022-03-04T01:11:53Z")
Of course, the Father Brown books were set in the 1910s-1930s. The TV series seems to act like they were set in the 30s for the most part, with occasional nods to the 1950s and even 60s. It’s not the sort of show that is expected to pay a great deal of attention to historical detail, really - it exists in a separate cosy-English-countryside-murder era. ---
**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 4, 2022, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/309 "2022-03-04T05:29:33Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > My GF is Muslim and has mentioned this - it’s basically only something that very religious people adhere to, Oh, yeah, I should have made that clear, _lots_ of Muslims ignore/take a less rigorous approach on these rules. I mean, if you ever see a Muslim man who’s clean-shaven (which IME is the majority), he’s running afoul of the same sort of proscription. My point was just that even in the pre-Western mania for clean-shaven pubes days, there was a segment of society that was already doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/310 "2022-06-04T23:13:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I remember a scene in _ **Mary, Queen of Scots** _ where a piper plays to celebrate a victory over some rebels. Was that at all accurate? I don’t recall that scene, would you happen to have a link? A lot of piping scenes in movies are crap. Now, at Prince Phillip’s funeral, the piping there was spot on (as I would expect for a genuine royal funeral) if you want to see an example of it done properly: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fXIrbchBwqI/maxresdefault.jpg "FLOWERS of the FOREST: Bagpiper at the Funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Windsor Castle") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXIrbchBwqI&t=50) > [@terentii](#): > > I learned how to play the bagpipes when I was 19. I got the chanter okay, but I didn’t stick with it long enough to develop the capacity to keep the bag full. Managing the bag is as much about coordination as lung capacity. Also, some people do better with a smaller bag. Me, for instance - I’m on the small side physically so it was much easier for me to manage with a small bag. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/311 "2022-06-05T02:38:39Z")
The bagpipe was “the instrument” of the college I attended. I remember one class held on the second floor of a building adjacent to the parking lot where one of the pipers regularly went to practice. Sometimes she serenaded us for the full 90 minutes twice a week. 😖 I saw the movie once, way back in the '70s. I’d have to search it to find the relevant scene, but I think Mary says something like “I shall tolerate your religion as you shall tolerate mine.” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/312 "2022-06-06T05:24:48Z")
I’ve noticed an increased number of the years of spas that offer eyebrow threading. I have seen it done; it involves rolling a twisted thread over the area where one wants the hair removed, and it plucks them as it goes. We do have a sizable Muslim population here, so many that’s a loophole? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/313 "2022-06-06T09:55:30Z")
It’s not a loophole - removing armpit and pubic hair is actually Sunnah for both men and women (ie it’s advised based on readings of the Koran; some consider it obligatory), and removing other hair, for women, is a matter of personal choice but can be considered part of the general guidance to stay clean and hygienic. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/314 "2022-06-06T14:39:43Z")
Over the span of a dozen novels, Aubrey and Maturin managed to circumnavigate the globe 3 or 4 times in just six months (June - November, 1813) with just the wind and a wooden ship. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/315 "2022-06-06T14:45:22Z")
That’s not an anachronism. It’s poetic license (or Aubrey is just _that good_) ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/316 "2022-06-06T15:00:45Z")
The Kevin Costner Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves had a scene that always stood out to me–Robin (Costner)'s Moorish friend Azeem (Morgan Freeman) hands him a spyglass. Robin is ignorant of its operation, and when he looks through it and sees approaching enemies much closer in his field of view, he pulls out his sword to attempt to strike at them. Azeem mocks his stupidity and speculates on how such an ignorant people had been able to capture Jerusalem. While this little scene in part was designed to (correctly) portray the reality that in that era (11th century) the Muslim world was generally ahead of Western Europe in terms of knowledge / early scientific development, AFAIK nothing like a retractable spyglass of that sort would exist for some 600 years later. While there are some important early works on optics by Muslim scholars contemporary to this era, I don’t think anyone anywhere had gotten lens crafting and optics down to the level of being able to create a spyglass at that point. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/317 "2022-06-07T14:18:41Z")
This is from an obscure, awful movie that I’m sure no one here has ever seen. Our Family Wedding starring America Ferrera. In one scene they’re playing softball. I think it was the bride’s family against the groom’s. The pitcher pitches to her own teammates! I thought does no one that’s connected to this movie know how softball or baseball is played? I watched this movie over 10 years ago and that scene still comes to mind and irritates me. UGH ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/318 "2022-06-07T14:34:10Z")
I have played in games where a teammate pitches to the batter. The pitcher doesn’t field but it’s a way to field a team when you have limited players. I’ve also been in a One Pitch tournament where the batter gets one pitch from a teammate who is pitching. I haven’t seen Our Family Wedding but it is possible for one teammate to pitch to another. I agree it’s not very common and you’ll definitely never see it in MLB or bigger organized leagues. Did they make any effort to explain it? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/319 "2022-06-07T14:42:38Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I have played in games where a teammate pitches to the batter. Which raises a question I’ve long wondered. How did baseball get to be a game both kids and adults like to play unorganized (pick up game), when you need so many to play? You can play basketball with anywhere from 1 to 12 players, (yes, I mean 6 on 6. If you’re small kids, you can do it) but try playing baseball with 4. We rarely had enough kids to make a game, and then you spend all your time running after fly balls. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956/320 "2022-06-07T15:36:25Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > The Kevin Costner Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves had a scene that always stood out to me–Robin (Costner)'s Moorish friend Azeem (Morgan Freeman) hands him a spyglass. Robin is ignorant of its operation, and when he looks through it and sees approaching enemies much closer in his field of view, he pulls out his sword to attempt to strike at them. Azeem mocks his stupidity and speculates on how such an ignorant people had been able to capture Jerusalem. > > While this little scene in part was designed to (correctly) portray the reality that in that era (11th century) the Muslim world was generally ahead of Western Europe in terms of knowledge / early scientific development, AFAIK nothing like a retractable spyglass of that sort would exist for some 600 years later. While there are some important early works on optics by Muslim scholars contemporary to this era, I don’t think anyone anywhere had gotten lens crafting and optics down to the level of being able to create a spyglass at that point. Quite right. Although there are a few nuts who claim telescopes were known even earlier than this, there’s nothing to support this belief. It’s an intriguing speculation, like the gunpowder bombs being used in that monument to historical accuracy, **300** , but it has nothing to do with reality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-anachronistic-thing-youve-seen-in-a-fictional-work-that-wasnt-intentional-or-an-accident/953956.md?page=17)