Fact Finder.

Anyone live in Hawaii that could tell me anything about what the culture is like there??

@ Katie Mosing
I don't live there, but I've been. I stayed on the island of Oahu I think, which isn't the big one, but one of the bigger ones. Everyone's pretty chill, if I remember right, and there's a lot of outdoor markets and merchants. They sell leis and little touristy things, and the beaches are always pretty populated.

It's been a few years, I think I got it right!

@ Katie Mosing
I don't live there either, but I had a classmate who studied pre-med at the BYU on one of the islands. She dropped out after her first semester because of bullying issues - she was an "inlander"/not a native to the island and everyone was really awful to her. I'm sure it's not like that everywhere, and I'm sure the sentiment is different toward tourists, but depending on the type of story it's something to consider.

Does the UK (specifically England) celebrate Valentine's Day? Do they call it that?

@ chibs telford
Yes we do! We call it Valentine's Day and celebrate it the exact same way as Americans do.

@ bona drag.
Thank you! It sounds like such a dumb question in retrospect but I didn't want to assume.

It's me again! I'm writing a character from France but I've never been there and don't want her to be from a large, popular city. Can anyone help with location suggestions?

I have some questions about London. Can you walk across Tower Bridge? Is it possible (not necessarily legal) to swim in River Thames? Popular night clubs?

semisweet.:

I have some questions about London. Can you walk across Tower Bridge? Is it possible (not necessarily legal) to swim in River Thames? Popular night clubs?

1) Yes, you can walk across Tower Bridge.

2) The Thames is both tidal and non-tidal, the tidal part being the part in London. If you're talking about the tidal Thames then looking at the Port of London Authority website, I don't think it's possible, or at least, it's unlikely? I'm not sure about the non-tidal part though.

I don't know about nightclubs, so I can't help there

@ newton geiszler.
Thank you so much!

@ the 1975
If it is not a major part of the story, you could say they're from a generic suburb or satellite town near a large city. If you want to be more specific, in cultural-geographic terms France is the opposite of the U.S. Stereotypically, the North region (especially parts bordering with Belgium) is associated with ignorance, poverty, lack of progress, and dialects which might sound odd/'primitive' to other French people. The South region is stereotypically considered to be the opposite. Like anywhere else, the smaller the town is, the more 'true' the stereotypes are due to the lack of influx of different people. (I actually have no idea what the middle of the country is like).

As to particular locations, I am just going to assume your character might be a small town girl/boy/person as you don't want them to be from a large city. There's countless small towns in France, like any other country, but I know of a couple. Bergues, a town near the Belgian border, is an example of a small Northern town. It's actually the setting of a popular French comedy movie, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, which makes light of the North-South cultural divide. Somewhere like that would be good if you wanted the character to be less stereotypically French, whether they interact with non-French characters or not. Finding a town in the South you like may be easier because you could just do a Google search pretending to be looking for a vacation. It's actually on the West coast of France, but somewhere I think is interesting is Île de Ré, a tiny island near the city of La Rochelle. Life there is quite traditional but the local people suffer influxes of city dwellers who buy them out of their houses and change them into vacation homes. This means that there is a strong sense of community among local people (arguably creepily strong at times).

*Obviously stereotypes are stereotypes and not hard facts, but there's nothing wrong with using them as a guideline.

@ sugarless
Holy crap, thank you so much! Right now I have the character stationed in Grenoble, mostly because a more tourist-y area works better for the story, but I'll definitely look into what you've given me in regards to where she was born/raised.

Again, thank you so much.

@ the 1975
No problem!

-never mind! xD-

Does anyone know what kinds o poisons that were available in the Victorian times that could make someone go insane if it doesn't kill them?

@ aubs
My understanding is that people in the Victorian era didn't realize mercury was harmful, but mercury can definitely kill and/or drive you mad. Also lead, but you have the same issue. A cursory glance over Wikipedia suggests that in the past people suspected lead and mercury caused issues in large quantities, but didn't realize how dangerous they really are, so you might get away with someone using them as poison.

HI! Does anyone know what Thai teenagers think of Americans and the United State in general? I mean, know that different people have different opinions, but you know how some American teenagers are fascinated by some foreigners? Do you think it's possible for some Thai teens to be fascinated by America?

Also, what s Thailand like compared to the US as terms of wealth go? What do Thai cities look like?

Hi there, does anyone know anything good about gymnastics? Like, you've taken gymnastics or just an enthusiast or something? Please PM me if you do!

I have a question about scars!! I have a character with facial scars, I want them to be either white or just typical darker scars. She's in her late teens, early twenties, and has had them since she was little.

Ideas as to what could've caused the scars? The story takes place in more of a renaissance time period

The events in Chernobyl really left their mark on history. But they also left behind just an incredible tourist location worth visiting. I once ventured on such a trip and never regretted it, because I visited just incredible places. By the way, the tour was organized for me in this company https://chernobylstory.com They have nice prices and very favorable conditions for tourists. If you book a tour from them, you are guaranteed to visit all the most interesting places that can only be seen in Chernobyl. I am very grateful to them for the incredible experience.