Some odd things I've learned writing fanfic (name that story!):

[sekiharatae]

The best thing to use when polishing/cleaning a sword (the metal kind, anyway) is something called choji oil.  It's a 99% mineral oil to 1% clove oil mix.

Clove oil is an anesthetic.  A q-tip full is enough to deaden the pain of a dry-socket.  Do not use on private parts.

"Berserker" means "bear shirt".

People have sex in a wide variety of odd and awkward positions. (I'm not talking 'innovative' or 'exciting' or even 'different'.  I'm talking contortionist.)

Muscle mass affects how quickly a person will get drunk.  Two individuals of the same height will still get drunk at different rates if one is muscular, and the other stringy (stringy will go down first).

Hair grows at a rate of six inches per year.

"Pent-Up" is supposed to have a hyphen in it, whether I think it needs one or not.

A human woman's scent changes to be more alluring to human men when she is her most fertile.

They actually make special ice cube trays for ice intended to go in a water bottle.

The "Lindy Hop" was named for a cross-ocean flight, although the two otherwise have nothing to do with each other.

There is a type of tango that looks sexy rather than ridiculous.

"Blindsight" isn't just a nifty title, it's an actual word (that turns out to have a great meaning when applied to the story, too).  It means (according to dictionary.com): the ability of a blind person to sense accurately a light source or other visual stimulus even though unable to see it consciously

The latest innovation in male chastity devices looks and sounds very painful.

For something they're so proud of, men are very willing to do odd things to their penis.

Comments

[qwi-xux.livejournal.com]

*dies laughing*

It's always so much fun to see the things other people learn when they're writing fanfic. I should totally do a list like this. ;)

I remember learning a lot about alcohol consumption for a fanfic I wrote a few years ago. I've never actually gotten drunk, nor do I have any desire to see what that's like. I dislike discomfort far too much and have no desire to ever experience a hangover. ;) Even on my 21st birthday--I couldn't actually drink anything on my 21st birthday because I was eight weeks pregnant with Arwen. But anyway, I needed to know a lot about how much alcohol various people could consume, so I called my dad. Though he's a contractor/carpenter, he went to bartending school for fun a few years back. So I'm going, 'Okay, Dad, I'm writing, and if someone this tall drinks, how much alcohol would it take for them to get drunk?' He launched into a very technical description of various aspects, and one particular thing I'll always remember is that the more greasy food you eat while you're drinking alcohol, the more alcohol your body can absorb.

...the things we research for fanfic. ;)

(I saw you posted stories...will get to reading the hair one as soon as I can sit at the computer longer than a few minutes without wanting to pass out. I'm assuming that's where you got the hair-growth rate research from?)

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

I'd love to read your list of fun facts. =D

I don't like the taste of alcohol. I find I can taste it even in something sugary like a daiquiri. Closest I've come to finding something I like is a drink called a "Chicago Bomb". Despite the name, the version I had didn't actually have much alcohol in it (a shot of creme de menthe and a shot of creme de cacao for a whole blender full). It's like a mint milkshake. Still, I can taste the alcohol in that, and alcohol tastes kind of like... bitter menthol. (Bad description, sorry.) So, not only do I not see the point of getting drunk, it doesn't taste good to me, so I just skip the whole thing.

Funny side note, my cousin's wife is a bar tender. We call her a mixologist, and then have to explain what that is. XD

Now I'm going to go look up whether or not blue eyes are more sensitive to sunlight than brown. Crazy as that sounds.

[(Anonymous)]

sense memory, ulfednar, some smut, in grain alcohol is truth, growing incentive, pent up, keeper, heat wave, come dancing cant remember titles. sorry for weird format im on my psp.

[kookyz.livejournal.com]

Whoops that was me. Forgot to log in. :p

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

LOL. Woot! And I didn't even name random objects. ;)

[dillyxdally.livejournal.com]

Lol, I learnt my lesson with Clove Oil when I tried to put some on a tooth that was really hurting and numbed my tongue. People thought I was drunk. o_0

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

Aww. =(

I've never used clove oil, so I had to read about it. It must be really potent stuff, though!

[crystalstars-88.livejournal.com]

I sadly discovered the hair info after I cut off all my long hair last year. I was told to experiment because "it's just hair, it grows back", but I've calculated that it won't grow back to its former length for another two years:( This bit of info comes from "Growing Incentive"

And the first bit of info must be from "Sense Memory", when Cloud is using the polish for his big metal sword to polish his *ahem* other sword while thinking of Tifa. Men will use anything for lubricant sometimes. I read somewhere that a guy had to go to the hospital after using some kind of chemical cleaner while jerking off. He burned the skin of his penis and his hand pretty bad. *shudders* And that was probably TMI;)

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about your hair =( I've never really thought about how fast it grows. I've had it up above my ears and down to the small of my back, but I seem to gravitate to having it just above my shoulders. So there's not a lot to cut or a lot to grow.

I will just reiterate the fact that, as proud as they are of their penis, men do ODD things. (Or stupid things. Or stupidly odd things.) O.o

I'm glad I read up on the oil though, so I could be realistic but not... damaging? LOL. I don't think using an anesthetic as lubricant would help. (Cloud: Now it's all slippy, but I can't feel anything. You dumb author!)