2 AM rabbit hole

Have you ever wondered about what actually takes up space in a novelist’s mind?

Some describe a writer’s mind as a museum of bizarre facts, forgotten history and niche technical skills. Others think they have an obsession with specialised knowledge that grounds fictional worlds in reality. Either way, it may inspire a curated tour of unique rabbit holes that shape interesting stories.

So, what types of facts lead to fiction?

History, sometimes weirder than fiction, provides an interesting backdrop of ideas, while other times gives little more than a way to get lost in factual nuggets.

Did you know that prior to the industrial revolution and the use of widespread artificial lighting, people didn’t necessarily sleep in 8-hour blocks? Instead, they would go to sleep at dusk, wake at midnight for 1-2 hours to socialise, read or pray and then go back to sleep until dawn. Even Shakespeare wrote parts of his plays during these hours.

Random fact 2: In Georgian England, pineapples were so rare and expensive that they cost the equivalent of thousands of dollars today. Wealthy people didn’t eat them but hired them for the night to carry around at high-society parties as the ultimate status symbol.

Lastly, and completely unrelated as thoughts go, Random fact 3: Until 1902, daylight swimming on beaches was completely banned in Australia to protect public molarity. 19th century Australians formed a massive underground culture of secret moonlit bathing parties. Youths would sneak down to Sydney and Melbourne beaches in the pitch black of night, while lookouts let them know when police officers patrolled the shorelines and swimmers could vanish into the dark dunes or blend into the night.

Random, seemingly irrelevant facts may come to absolute nothing and be referenced in no written work whatsoever. But who’s to say it may not form part of a train of thought that inspires a midnight swim between two protagonists who happen to be awake?

As far as pineapples go, I can’t say I eat those very much. But still, it’s nice to know they’re more readily available just the same.