I'm working on a novel set in a fantasy world, but I'd like to base my technology levels on a real world time period. Otherwise, I risk saying something hasn't been invented yet, but something that depends on the leanings from that technology does exists.
I know I want a time period that's industrial, but I don't want the average person to have computers or cell phones. Everything I know about these time periods is based on TV shows, like M*A*S*H* and Hogan's Heroes. Great shows, but not super heavy on the historical accuracy. I'm also not interested in a military perspective.
What kind of technology would an average person in the 1960s have that a person in the 1940s would not have and what would a person in the 1940s have that the person in the 1920s wouldn't?
Thank you for your help!
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your novel, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists, based on past experience: some aspiring novelists have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.