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It's been around for 30 or so years. If you're middle age then you were 20 when it started.

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.[1] Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history.

Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" for such technology as lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace's Analytical engine.

Steampunk is sometimes thought of as related to cyberpunk, although apart from the shared origins of the name, they have almost nothing in common. Obviously their time period and level of technology are different, but steampunk settings also tend to be less dystopian. Steampunks themselves commonly have past connections to goth, more so than the cyberpunk or industrial scenes.

Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

13 years ago. Rating: 2
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hmmmm. Good answer. I've never heard of it. Rainmaid, what do you think of it? Thank you, Colleen.

13 years ago. Rating: 0
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Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s.

As usually Colleen got there first and was bang on with the answer!

13 years ago. Rating: 0
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