Extremely minor "signature" tropes you enjoy?

[SpudNutimus]

What are some extremely minor, secondary to any given timeline tropes that you like to throw into a given world just because you enjoy them rather than any particular relation to the timeline? Almost a small signature that you like to leave in a given world that doesn't actually affect very much but that shows you were there. I'll start with three of mine:

1. Miami doesn't become a major city via beach resorts in the early 20th century, and rather than becoming weirdly well-developed southern Florida just remains a sparsely populated swamp with not much in it, the largest cities in the state remaining in the Panhandle and the Jacksonville area while the major beach resorts spring up along the rest of the Gulf Coast in places like Panama Beach and Gulf Shores.

2. The easternmost strip of land in Idaho Territory and Utah Territory (visible in the attached image) is never transferred to Wyoming Territory upon its separation from Dakota Territory, leaving Wyoming slightly irregularly shaped rather than perfectly rectangular, the Tetons and a larger portion of Yellowstone in Idaho, and Evanston in Utah.

3. In any timeline without a divided North Dakota and South Dakota, I'll also leave that tiny piece of Dakota Territory north of the Keya Paha River (also visible in the attached image) which was eventually returned to Nebraska in real life with Dakota upon statehood.

 

[Coiler]

The Montana battleships are built, some serve in Korea, and one becomes a museum ship.

 

[Walpurgisnacht]

Scottish nationalism just sort of never gets off the ground and/or splits horribly into warring factions, something which now I think about it is probably a rather unhealthy way of expressing political frustration.

 

[Gary Oswald]

I was somewhat surprised recently to realise that in three different works set in the Old World, I'd put in an off handed reference to Barbary Corsairs operating out of bases in the New World, something that never happened in OTL.

 

[Thande]

I like to change small cultural things in a way that only a handful of people would get - like OTL obscure people (one-hit wonder bands, etc.) becoming unexpectedly prominent.

 

[SpanishSpy]

Incongruous mention of social partner dance.

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

My favorite is Constantinople going to Greece for no apparent reason. Just kidding.

- Chile gets Patagonia
- One of the attempts at creating a union of Central American republics succeeds
- Zeppelins, Zeppelins, and more Zeppelins.

 

[Coiler]

- One of the attempts at creating a union of Central American republics succeeds

Similarly I like having the West Indies Federation endure.

 

[Lilitou]

How minor it is depends on the timeline, but I am quite fond of the time-honoured SLP tradition of SBS Special Agent Ashdown.

 

[OwenM]

A more federal Britain (and somewhat less minorly, PR)

 

[SpudNutimus]

Another one I like to use in any timeline with much more major trans-Pacific immigration to the United States, particularly without a Chinese Exclusion Act:

The major Pacific port which gradually replaces San Francisco over the course of the 20th century isn't in Oakland, but in the Vallejo, Antioch, or Rio Vista area as large amounts of immigrants are processed there before moving into the Central Valley via the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.