If you’re asking what household item doesn’t actually change, but would be considered extraordinary by someone in a medieval setting, and function and be useful in that environment, I’d say matches.
It sounds like China had a primitive chemical match well before Europe, but that it wasn’t until the early 1800s that Europe had the match in common production, so I’d guess that a European fantasy setting likely wouldn’t have matches.
It sounds like we didn’t have aluminum until the early 1800s, either (and it was very expensive for a while, until we got processing with electricity), so very lightweight metal objects would be pretty remarkable.
Also, not that impressive to people who may already have flint-based lighters. And whom definitely had flint at least.
In 1662, Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi visited Vienna as a member of an Ottoman diplomatic mission, and admired the lighters being manufactured there: “Enclosed in a kind of tiny box are tinder, a steel, sulphur, and resinous wood. When struck just like a firearm wheel, the wood bursts into flame. This is useful for soldiers on campaign.”
I think “needing” matches could be seen as you just not knowing basic shit. Kinda how we look at kids today in school. (“Back in my day we had a blackboard!”)
And since OP defined “a fantasy novel”, and not just medieval times, I don’t think my stainless steel knives would be that impressive. Probably good and worth a bunch, but you’d have some actually magical metals then, eh…
Hmm…
Honestly just as an all arounder I think my previous phone was kinda nice if you could have a solar charger. It had a camera better than my eyes (10x optical zoom), compass, bunch of sensors that could probably be adapted. Could hold Wikipedia and take notes. Hell, just edit a video a little to make a deepfake about the king being corrupt and other political demagoguery, especially for like a bard type character.
It’s a boring answer and it wouldn’t be that special tbh, but aside from having my ebike there with some sort of charger (although I think I’m fairly confident I could manage to build a charger / battery if it came to it, it’s not really that hard. You’d just need a very large one to get the voltage right. And I don’t known how picky the battery in my ebike is about the voltage it receives.
But if I had like a Wikipedia on my phone, oh wait no, then that’s two items, bike and Pedia. Pff. Bike would be so much more worth than a phone though, at least if we’re imagining a basic DnD party type of thing and not some massive political campaigns or bringing forth a new era of technology and culture through educating people with a Wikipedia.
I’m not sure exactly what you mean.
If you’re asking what household item doesn’t actually change, but would be considered extraordinary by someone in a medieval setting, and function and be useful in that environment, I’d say matches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match
It sounds like China had a primitive chemical match well before Europe, but that it wasn’t until the early 1800s that Europe had the match in common production, so I’d guess that a European fantasy setting likely wouldn’t have matches.
Oh, another one. A stainless steel knife. Stainless steel apparently didn’t exist until the early 1800s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel
“The knife that does not rust.”
It sounds like we didn’t have aluminum until the early 1800s, either (and it was very expensive for a while, until we got processing with electricity), so very lightweight metal objects would be pretty remarkable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium
Matches get wet.
Also, not that impressive to people who may already have flint-based lighters. And whom definitely had flint at least.
I think “needing” matches could be seen as you just not knowing basic shit. Kinda how we look at kids today in school. (“Back in my day we had a blackboard!”)
And since OP defined “a fantasy novel”, and not just medieval times, I don’t think my stainless steel knives would be that impressive. Probably good and worth a bunch, but you’d have some actually magical metals then, eh…
Hmm…
Honestly just as an all arounder I think my previous phone was kinda nice if you could have a solar charger. It had a camera better than my eyes (10x optical zoom), compass, bunch of sensors that could probably be adapted. Could hold Wikipedia and take notes. Hell, just edit a video a little to make a deepfake about the king being corrupt and other political demagoguery, especially for like a bard type character.
It’s a boring answer and it wouldn’t be that special tbh, but aside from having my ebike there with some sort of charger (although I think I’m fairly confident I could manage to build a charger / battery if it came to it, it’s not really that hard. You’d just need a very large one to get the voltage right. And I don’t known how picky the battery in my ebike is about the voltage it receives.
But if I had like a Wikipedia on my phone, oh wait no, then that’s two items, bike and Pedia. Pff. Bike would be so much more worth than a phone though, at least if we’re imagining a basic DnD party type of thing and not some massive political campaigns or bringing forth a new era of technology and culture through educating people with a Wikipedia.
The wandering inn has a couple chapters (and even starts a gang war) over matches.