This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
See also Discarded YKTTW Phlebotinum Functions As The Plot Demands
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Moved the following because, while interesting, it doesn't seem to have much to do with the topic.
Radioactive elements tend to glow green, despite the fact that only radium does this in real life (which is why it was used for glow in the dark watches until the health risks became obvious).
For that matter, acid is always green (and boiling) too. There are green acids, of course (chromic being the most common), but the powerful acids most often used for industrial purposes are sulphuric (which is colorless) and hydrochloric (also called "muriatic", which is yellow). And boiling them would not be a tremendously useful (or wise)thing to do.
LTR I think both of these entries could be put into Weird Science, because they're definitely trope on TV, anything that's glowing green is meant to signify to the auidence that the substance in question is highly radioactive or caustic or both. When as the poster above clearly demonstrates, the vast majority of chemicals are colorless, odorless and kinda "blah" for TV. In fact, a lot of harmless things flouresce or glow in real life, glo sticks anyone?
Hmm, maybe a separate entry for things that appear in colors on TV that they never appear in in real life? glowing green or red "radioactive" rocks, green acid, bottles full of green or pink liquids that are supposedly dangerous biological or chemical agents? Too Blah For TV maybe?
Ununnilium: Don't forget the Jacob's Ladders and twisting glass things that appear in every scientist's lab, and the racks of multicolored liquids in the crime lab on CSI.
Idle Dandy: Science Glows or Science Is Pretty perhaps?
Kendra Kirai: The Science Rainbow!
Ununnilium: I like Science Is Pretty, though a trope with "Laser" somewhere in the name would be best.
Kendra Kirai: Frickin' Lasers of Science!
Yo, I don't use this wiki, so I'm not gonna do the edit myself, but the description of melange (in the Dune books) as green rocks is a bit of a stretch. Or at least, the list of alleged properties is seriously problematic.
The "weirding way" is martial arts and biofeedback training practiced by the Bene Gesserit, and has nothing to do with melange. I don't think it enhances fertility. It's not starship fuel, but piloting a starship without being able to see the future is dangerous/impossible/something, so it is necessary (via a predictable link) for moving starships. Three of your alleged "diverse and magical powers" are either wrong, or in the case of starship piloting a direct derivative of an actual power.
It is, on the other hand, a drug, which has some very important effects: trances, ability to see the future, blue-in-blue eyes. It also has a flavour (wow, no surprise there), and so is used in food as flavouring (in small doses, relative to the clairvoyant dose). None of this so far is especially diverse, nor does any of it flexibly bend to suit the latest plot development. It also has weird effect (which are also cumulative over generations) on children born to heavy users: for a light example see Alia, for a heavy example see the Guild Navigators. It also is related (both drugs are derived from the same animal) to the drug Water of Life, which among other things lets one talk to one's spiritual ancestors, and/or do some other weird stuff.
William Wide Web: Actually, there are supposedly other drugs that could be used for the weirding way, but they're not as powerful and once you use spice you can't use anything else. Ununnilium: Thought it sounded weird, from what I knew from the series. Edit edit edit...
Seth I based that on Pauls line that without spice the Bene Gesserit would loose all powers, having not read the book only seen the various on screen incarnations i could have been wrong on this point but it seemed like the weirding way was also linked to spice. Edit can stand since whats there works anyway but id like to see what others think.
Peteman: Don't forget it also has numerous health benefits provided you can afford to maintain your addiction. Most notably is its life-prolonging abilities.
Re oil=food controversy: besides the gas used in modern mechanized farming, the chemical fertilizers are also based on petrochemicals, although they usually use natural gas rather than oil.
Does D-Boy's tek-set crystal from Tekkaman Blade count as a literal green rock?
Could the Legend of Zelda's triforce not be a type of this? While it's effect has been specified, it seems to have alternate uses when in possession. A glowing tattoo is all that is indicated physically for Link and Zelda, but throughout the games, Ganondorf uses his triforce to create monsters, power up, transform, and presumably his longevity is related. Either the full effects of the triforces haven't been mapped out, or they are a kind of wishing power. Zelda can break hers apart, but they apparently can break themselves apart if a fetching quest is needed.
bluefireglow: Hmm...see, the thing with that is that Ganondorf's Triforce piece is Power, and so one would think that it would come with more overt...er...powers than Wisdom and Courage. On the other hand, the individual pieces seem to fall into this trope, because their abilities and effects for their respective owners do seem to change arbitrarily from game to game...
Removed example below, as it really didn't seem to fit this trope. (Plus, it's not really accurate. But since it isn't this trope anyway, that doesn't really seem to matter!)
- In Harry Potter, it's never really explained how magic works (and I'm pretty sure there is no explanation that's consistent with everything we see in the books), so its effects sometimes appear random. The best example of this is Harry not dying from Voldemorts Killing Curse in Deathly Hallows. The explanation Dumbledore gives for this basically comes down to "magical effect that has never occured before and that has no logical explanation".
The One Who Tropes: The MinovskyParticle is an example of exactly that - not green rocks. There's a trope named after it - so should we get rid of the Gundam example (I'm new here, so I want to discuss this before deleting.)
