volcano view, Popocatepetl, Puebla, Mexico - Author: Rosellea_
Hate it when TikTok farm cosplayers and cottagecore types say stuff like "I'm not going to use modern equipment because my grandmothers could make do without it." Ma'am, your great grandma had eleven children. She would have killed for a slow cooker and a stick blender.
I’ve noticed a sort of implicit belief that people used to do things the hard way in the past because they were tougher or something. In reality, labor-saving devices have historically been adopted by the populace as soon as they were economically feasible. No one stood in front of a smoky fire or a boiling pot of lye soap for hours because they were virtuous, they did it because it was the only way to survive.
Taking these screenshots from Facebook because they make you log in and won't let you copy and paste:
Assyrian dog figurines with names carved on them, 650 BC
“Expeller of evil” (mušēṣu lemnūti) with white pigment and red spots
“Catcher of the enemy” (kāšid ayyāb) with red pigment
“Don’t think, bite!” (ē tamtallik epuš pāka) with white pigment
“Biter of his foe!” (munaššiku gārîšu) with turquoise pigment
“Loud is his bark!” (dan rigiššu) with black pigment
