Each week we browse LiveJournal’s Popular Entries feature to unearth fascinating, obsessive, and sometimes bizarre communities for your perusal. There’s bound to be one just for you.
Could you heal a severe chainsaw laceration with super glue? How did people flirt in the 1940s? Would horse tranquilizers work on a mythical griffin?
These are the types of questions you’ll likely encounter at LiveJournal community Little Details. Every day members of the 11,000-strong group use real-life and speculative knowledge in order to answer writers’ bizarre and burning questions.
“All types of fiction writers—professional, amateur, fanfiction, original—are welcome to post questions,” chief moderator kutsuwamushi explained. “Our focus is on factual accuracy rather than general writing advice.”
Here are some recent examples:
1) Which tranquilizers work on mythical beasts?
Let’s cut to the chase, says inkimage: If griffin invaded Washington, D.C., the first thing we’d want to know is how to sedate them. Commenters suggested referencing other large animals.
“A Google search turned up an article on anesthesia of bears,” lindenharp wrote. “You might find it useful, as it discusses specific dosages of different drugs for different species of bear.”
2) How to isolate 2,000 people from the rest of the world?
Science-fiction author twilight2000 wants to cut off a hotel’s worth of people with an isolating disaster. Users suggested everything from an earthquake to a zombie apocalypse.
“Temporal [separation] is certainly easiest,” she wrote. “We saw it in everything from Star Trek to Sanctuary, so the readership should be comfortable enough with it.”
3) Could 17th century boats have been crewed by a single sailor?
User manynames, a historical fiction author, wants to write about a solo female sailor, but has no idea whether she’d be able to travel the ocean alone. Commenters aren’t sure if it’s possible.
“Although you might manage for a few days in a dire emergency if your ship is small enough that one person can manage the sails, the problem is how you’re going to sleep; you need someone on watch all the time to keep you on course,” penknife wrote.
Modern day flirting already has its own complicated set of rules. Author bloobottle is wondering how the code words between the sexes have changed over time. However, users said it’s even more complex than the author thought.
“For your question, I think you need to specify whether the young people are white or black and their socio-economic status because it will make a difference as to whether they are meeting in a cafe or whether they are meeting at the country club,” duckodeath wrote.
5) Can you mend an amputated limb with Krazy Glue?
In tabaqui’s post-apocalyptic story, a character needs to amputate his leg below the knee with a chainsaw and heal it with Krazy Glue. Amazingly, users think this is plausible.
“I’ve heard stories from Marine friends about putting superglue on a wound and then slapping a piece of duct tape over it,” stormsdotter wrote. “Have not verified.”
Photo via Tony Hall
