Ha, there's a story in my family from way back in the day when my eldest sister was working on a story. She needed, she decided, to be able to explain the taste of burned wood. So she did the obvious thing - got a match, lit it, shook it out, and nommed on it.
This was apparently very informative.
It was only after she managed to get the taste out of her mouth that she realised that she actually wanted the smell of burned wood.
(We've also done such things as blindfolding ourselves for a simplistic idea of what it's like to be blind, putting lines of tape over skin to simulate a scar and see how it affects movement, bound hands behind our backs to see if we could realistically scratch a recognisable letter into our skin....)
To clarify -- I haven't actually done it! Just lots and lots of research, as I lack both the razor and the beard. I have, with much effort, managed to get my best knife sharp enough for experimentation, though, and it is awfully effective on leg hair ;-) Very smooth.
Also, I now know more about Regency men's undergarments (or lack thereof) than I'd ever previously considered ...
What have YOU done in the service of a story or a character?
I've bought individual tracks and albums for them for similar reasons. The most bizarre thing so far is to pick up a book and CD set to attempt to teach myself at least some of a language that has little to no practical use on this side of the pond and way too many consonants when written for all that the sound is all about the vowels. *facepalm*
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This was apparently very informative.
It was only after she managed to get the taste out of her mouth that she realised that she actually wanted the smell of burned wood.
(We've also done such things as blindfolding ourselves for a simplistic idea of what it's like to be blind, putting lines of tape over skin to simulate a scar and see how it affects movement, bound hands behind our backs to see if we could realistically scratch a recognisable letter into our skin....)
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How to shave with a straight razor.
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Wacky things I've done:
I have been reading about Math on Wikipedia and online math websites, with little success.
More recently, I've been contemplating buying a colloquial Russian-English dictionary.
And oh, the time periods I've read about when contemplating Captain Jack.
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Also, I now know more about Regency men's undergarments (or lack thereof) than I'd ever previously considered ...
Research is our friend, oh yes it is.
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I've bought individual tracks and albums for them for similar reasons. The most bizarre thing so far is to pick up a book and CD set to attempt to teach myself at least some of a language that has little to no practical use on this side of the pond and way too many consonants when written for all that the sound is all about the vowels. *facepalm*
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