YMMV / Two-Minute Mysteries

• Unintentional Period Piece: The cases were written during the 1960s and 70s, and reflect trends and views that are out of date for modern readers:
  • In one case, a Russian emigre refers to the Soviet Union and the city of Leningrad, to which the detective becomes suspicious due to the suspect, an anti-communist, not referring to the city by its old name of Saint Petersburg. Following the end of the Cold War however, the city's name reverted to Saint Petersburg.
  • In another case, the detective asks a baker for a "bicarbonate of soda", which she does not have. The detective then deduces that the bakery must be a front for smuggling. However, the term Winters used is antiquated even for the 60s, and most people today use the term baking soda.
  • In another case, the detective goes through a crook's notebook, and deduces that he is not traveling to the Middle East as claimed, but the similarly named city in Texas, as he used the term "Palestine" rather than "Israel". During the time the story was written, "Palestine" generally refers to the region, rather than the State of Palestine.
  • In another case, a character refers to The Wild West as the 80s. Back when the story was written, The '80s hasn't happened yet, and he was referring to the 1880s. This dates the story to the 1960s-70s.