If you could go back that far, you’d actually be better off taking the knowledge of a much simpler invention - soap.
While there are fancier ways to make soap nowadays, the easiest way is just mixing lye into water (slowly), add in melted animal fat or oil, mix for a while until it thickens into “trace”, add whatever fragrance you want, then pour into a mould and leave to cool.
Sure you could sell this as a way to reduce disease, but you could just as easily sell it as a way to launder clothes, or clean dishware (as oil was notoriously difficult to clean back then). Your hardest chore would be getting your hands on lye, and convincing people its not witchcraft.
If you could go back that far, you’d actually be better off taking the knowledge of a much simpler invention - soap.
While there are fancier ways to make soap nowadays, the easiest way is just mixing lye into water (slowly), add in melted animal fat or oil, mix for a while until it thickens into “trace”, add whatever fragrance you want, then pour into a mould and leave to cool.
Sure you could sell this as a way to reduce disease, but you could just as easily sell it as a way to launder clothes, or clean dishware (as oil was notoriously difficult to clean back then). Your hardest chore would be getting your hands on lye, and convincing people its not witchcraft.
What? There are recipes for soap that date back to ancient Sumer
How about showing them how to make sandals?
Nah nah you gotta introduce them to the concept of beer
I have no idea what lye is or how to make it. All I have to fall back on are some sandwich making skills.
imagine being the inventor of sliced bread, youd get so much credit
Isn’t that leached from wood ash or something?
Ah right, there was this survival video about making soap from ash with a simple gravel filter.
And some of the better isekai Manga making cement by burning clams. Would that work?