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Household Conveniences

From ThornsWiki

Electricity is not widely used in any practical manner outside of the sciences, but the incandescent bulb has been invented and is used mainly in industrial settings. Steam power is how most electricity is generated, but some forms of transportation also use various fuels, liquid and solid.

Entertainment

Recorded music has only recently become a technological possibility. Phonographs were the first inventions to record sound, and were in wide use among the galdori despite a few drawbacks in convenience. They were soon overtaken by gramophone records, which use spinning discs rather than cylinders. Gramophones are still very new and exciting, and only the very rich have them. Wicks have become particularly fond of recording performances on phonograph cylinders, and often go to great lengths to obtain old phonographs.

The motion picture device was recently invented by Harper Moore, who is among other things a camera spectra hobbyist. He has applied for a patent. The device is still rudimentary, and currently very few people see any potential in it (aside from its use in recording ghost movements). Needless to say, it is not publicly available yet.

Lighting

A phosphor lantern is a lamp lit with Vitan phosphor, which collects light during the day and glows at night. A particularly potent strain of phosphor is abundant in the mines of Anaxas, so these lanterns are very popular - they do not need to be relit, only lose their potency after several generations of use, and turn themselves on automatically when it grows dark. They give off a very pleasant blue, red, golden or orange glow (depending on the strain). Due to the rarity and expense of Vitan phosphor, these lamps are luxuries. Most humans and wicks use oil lamps, and some older galdori homes have oil lamps installed. There are many who prefer the kind of light one can get from a flame. Currently, electric lighting is not available.

Plumbing

The sewer and plumbing system in Anaxas is on par with mid-1800s technology on Earth. Some homes in Vita still do not have running water, but a growing sector of the population is fortunate enough to have indoor plumbing. This is especially common in galdori homes such as those in Brunnhold and Vienda. Flush toilets do exist and are very common, as are baths (showers much less so). Sinks (or lavatories) are not generally found in Anaxi bathrooms; instead, a washbasin is filled each morning from a pump or a running water faucet inside the house.

For those not lucky enough to afford a house with indoor plumbing, there are communal outdoor pumps, wells, and fountains. Bedpans are used in lieu of toilets among the poor. In Vienda and Brunnhold, there are large aqueducts that feed an underground system of lead pipes; in addition to supplying water to those houses with indoor plumbing, these aqueducts can be accessed from above ground in certain areas.

Refrigeration

Iceboxes can be found in galdori homes and most businesses; ice is purchased and used to cool the contents of the icebox. Compression refrigeration machines do exist, but are very rare and expensive; they are typically reserved for businesses that need to keep food and drink cold, or in factories. Ice-making machines are more common, and there are shops that sell large blocks of ice for use in iceboxes.