It’s funny. The Bennetts are “poor”, but they still own a village. Even minor nobility, in a pre-industrial world, live lives of incredible opulence, compared to the vast majority. (View Post)

A lot of people have an absurdly romanticised view of what the pre-industrial world was like. Some numbers were remarkably consistent. About 24, for average life expectancy; about 45%, for children w… (View Post)

Pre-Industrial Revolution, a State’s share of world GDP tended to match its share of world population, with most people growing food as peasants, in villages. Maximum GDP per head was about $2,000. T… (View Post)

Swallows and Amazons changed Able Seaman Titty to Tatty, for the film. I don’t know if they kept Roger The Ship’s Boy and Salty Seaman. (View Post)

I always enjoyed Blyton's throwaway comments like "When you want to impress a girl, you bring a bunch of flowers. When you want to impress the King of the Northmen, you bring a sack of head… (View Post)