Just realized: the myth², vampires couldn't see their reflection in the mirror, probably comes from mirrors being made of *silver*. Makes so much sense!
²) of course, we do see ourselves in the mirror. How else could we do our makeup so flawlessly?
Mir is grad aufgefallen, dass der Mythos³, Vampire könnten sich nicht im Spiegel sehen, vmtl kommt, weil Spiegel aus *Silber* gemacht wurden. Macht so viel Sinn!
³) klar sehen wir uns im Spiegel. Wie würden wir sonst unser Makeup perfekt hinkriegen?
otoh: Why is mythology so obsessed with silver? Is it just that it's the metal corresponding with the moon (instead of gold ~ sun)? Hmm.
Are there mythical creatures only hurt by gold? Copper? Iron?
Andererseits: Warum ist die Mythologie so besessen von Silber? Ist es nur, weil Silber das Metall ist, das dem Mond zugeordnet ist (statt Gold ~ Sonne)? Hmm.
Gibt es myth. Wesen, die nur von Gold verletzt werden? Kupfer? Eisen?
@TQ In some Celtic traditions, Sidhe (fairies) are often repelled by "cold iron". But the silver-as-baneful-substance trope might have some basis in real-world chemistry. Silver nitrate is caustic shit.
@starbreaker Hmmm. You're right, I remember from school... Thanks!
@TQ iron hurts ghosts and fae, I can't find it for copper right now but I'm pretty sure there's a creature weak to copper as well
@punsandpotions Ha, you're right! It's a different culture. Here in Germany, ghosts are put off by light and churchy stuff and such. And well, we don't have fae.
@TQ i literally am from Germany 😂
@punsandpotions 😂 Just shows how far away Celtic culture is from my brain... Ah, well. I'm not very good in local mythology either, so that's okay.
@TQ dw about it! i don't think germans are too big on mythology unless you're part of pagan and Norse communities. we're more about the regular ol evil humans i feel.
@punsandpotions Guess you're right. Of human evil we got plenty.
@TQ Cold Iron is a big thing in Celtic lore regarding being good to repel faeries and also related to the good luck horseshoe
@TQ If a creature is harmed by gold, it can't be guarding a ultra valuable trove of gold and jewels. :)
@TQ silver does have some antimicrobial properties! if you didn't know about that you might well be like "well it magically kills bad stuff I GUESS?"
@queenofzan Ah, I love your approach! *sprays disinfectant in the face of a werewolf*
HA! You didn't see THAT coming!
@queenofzan @TQ And so does copper, for what it's worth.
@naga @queenofzan Ahh, thanks! Interesting, didn't know that.
@TQ @queenofzan some cruise ships are starting to use copper in the restrooms (surfaces and door push panels) to reduce the spread of GI illnesses.
@naga @queenofzan Interestind, really! I've heard that silver was used in a similar manner (I guess), but I didn't know it's possible with copper.
@TQ @queenofzan copper might be specific to certain pathogens (maybe E. coli or norovirus). It's been a while since I read about it. And cheaper than silver!
@TQ Pure old is too soft to make tools, apart from being very expensive. So silver was maybe just the next best thing?
@TQ s/old/gold/
Ah, why is this bugging me so much...