I love fact-checking. And I love history. In fact, if you took the time to comb through my books, you’d find a lot of little historically reported tidbits that tie in with the world that I’ve created.
I’m quirky that way.
I also hate spreading misinformation. So yesterday I was racking my brain, trying to recall how long stored blood will remain unspoiled (you know, fit for human transfusion or vampire consumption–just another day in the Brewer household), but I was drawing a blank. I didn’t have it written down anywhere and Google wasn’t helping, so I called Paul (who’d given me this tasty morsel of information a few months ago after he donated blood–yay, Red Cross!) to see if he could remember. Nope.
But in a stroke of good luck, Paul was at the doctor’s. So I begged and pleaded with him to please please PLEASE ask the doctor how long it takes for blood to go bad.
But he forgot. (so he says…I think he was just worried about the “you psycho” looks the doc might have given him)
Then, in the middle of the night, I woke up and remembered. 45 days. Human blood can be stored for up to 45 days before it’s useless.
Rock on, Red Cross. You rule.
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Heather:
Part of being a writer is being a somewhat useless repository of trivia. I am a “ringer” in any trivia match because I have so much CRAP stored in my brain because you never damn well know when you’ll need that tidbit for a book. Congrats for remembering!
E
*grin* Ah yes, I’m a big fan of useless knowledge too. You never know when you’ll need it!
…ummm… if it is so useless, then you would never need it right?
I like to think of myself as a repository of interesting information
I refuse to limit myself to the confines of your descriptive abilities, Ewoh. In other words…PPPLLLPLLTTT!!!!!
I’m feeling totally mature today.
Well, Ewoh, I have yet to be able to figure out a way to utilize the techniques of COW JUDGING in a book. (When I was a book editor, the first book I worked on was an academic book by the head of Cornell’s animal husbandry college . . . thus I can judge a good Jersey cow from a mediocre one.) So Ewoh . . . useless MAY be applicable for some of the crap stored in my brain. Book editors know a little bit about a LOT of topics. I once worked with the head of Sweden’s recycling department who told me all about fish that eat CRAP (and paper and assorted other items) as a form of recycling. Again . . . not sure when or how I would ever use it. But yes, I could go on . . . and on . . . and pathetically on.
I can tell
Nothing wrong with that.
Fish that eat crap and cow judging abilities…ah, the glamorous life of a writer.
It’s the revisions, Ewoh. Brings out the junior high kid in me.
That’s not useless… you just haven’t hit on the right vehicle to push it out
And here I’m storing random information about dragon breeding cycles…I wonder how closely that’s related to cow husbandry???
Well, Sybir, cows=dragon snacks, so…
Ewoh, you’re the eternal optimist
LOL, charbroiled cow = dragon snacks
At least, that’s the way it’s working today. I swear… I’m gonna set my dragons down with some vamps just to see how the evening goes!
hmmm… undead dragons…. hmmm…
((Jackie pokes her head up)) Did someone say dragons?
Aren’t they already pretty much immortal anyway???
I guess that would depend on the story… and how immortality is defined.
Do vampires have pets? Are they of the undead variety as well?
If a dragon could be turned into a vampire, should it?
It sounds like we have the makings for a really fun Fantasy novel here… anyone for a collaborative work???
I run off for a few hours and come back to vampyric dragons?? Gawd, I love you, minions! *kish*
Hmm, I think I see a cameo in each next book from your minions!!!! *goes off to plot vampyric dragons*
Heather, you named us, now we are yours. Let’s see where we can take this huh? Sounds like fun to me.
We could each do a short story on the topic from our own point of view. See how we all create differently. Now that would be fun.
Heather, Jackie, Erica, Sybir and myself. That’s 5 chapters. Anyone else interested?
Come on fellow minions, speak up. What color is your dragon?
I’d think that would be obvious. Blood red. *g*
Silver, always silver
And you know, I already started with mine. She’s a little bitchy at the moment 
My dragon’s a royal blue. But it’s currently stabled in Famine’s stall over at the Four Horsemen. Technically, he belongs to Famine. He’s a bit busy at the moment — the Apocalypse has been scheduled to occur in four books’ time, so he’s stocking up on charred human bones to save for the trip. He hates to eat and run…
Mine is a black dragon… and his attitude is like mine, but without coffee… you just don’t want to deal with that.
And yes, he is a vampyre dragon.
Oh the stories I’m going to tell
My dragon is a deep green. He’s owned by a Czar.
E
My dragon is lavender and has the ability to bilocate.
Hey, Heather, my favorite sources for research questions are the Ask a Librarian service at New York Public Library and the Ask Us service at Minneapolis Public Library. Just e-mail the question and a detailed and documented response usually arrives within three days. They are fantastic!
C.
What a rainbow of dragons we have!
C, thanks so much! I know I’ll utilize their services.
Ooh, I’ll store that tidbit of information for my research too! Thank you C (whoever you are!!!).
I’d say we have a great group of dragons springing forth and ready to take over the creative worlds! Can’t wait to see them all!!!!
Actually, my informants say that national blood banks currently store donated blood for 42 days–the point at which 75% of blood cells in the sample can still survive in a human for 24 hours.
It used to be 21 days before improved preservatives were introduced in the 1980s.
I am the king of useless knowledge!
Huh. Well, I got the 45 day mark from my hubby, who’d just finished donating and had asked a Red Cross volunteer. But it’s possible they were misinformed.
Nope. On Day 43 it turns into evil zombie blood or something totally unfit for human consumption. The red cells, anyway. The plasma is good for about a year.
That’s good to know.