Something that comes to mind that would need adaption for furries would be things with buttons and levers. Buttoms obviously would need to be stronger to allow for point-force of claws, but would still need to allow for those with stubby digits and no claws. Everything from crosswalks, car controls through to computer keyboards. Door handles for example - can 'foot pads' in the hand allow for a grip on spherical knobs? Humans have enough difficulty if they have wet hands... Scratch plates behind handles to reduce the liklihood of claws destroying the panel behind?
Shoes would be a recurring difficulty that many artists have tried to grapple with. Walk digitigrade, stand plantigrade - serious flex design required in the sole to prevent them wearing out too quickly (I tend to split the soles of my boots under the ball of the foot due to excessive flex when walking/striding). High heels that allow the wearer to stand digitigrade with support? Toe claws concealed or exposed? And as mentioned, size variety galore! Would their idea of sports shoes differ, allowing sports could be very different? Is 'digging' a sport? Are scratching posts a form of dynamic artwork? Is it bad manners to sharpen you claws on someone else's scratching post when at their house? Would you use a floor mounted scratching post to really flex the shoulders, arms, back and claws, or will a nail file do?
Would you keep a special brush near the front door, a bit like having a doormat for feet, for cleaning your tail if you encountered mud when out? Obviously you didn't mean to drag in the mud, but it happens. Would their be etiquette with this, especially in public buildings (a bit like what you do with wet umbrellas).
Mobile phones could be interesting - would the slide phones be more popular, allowing the distance between the ears and mouth? Since the majority of sound comes from the nose and palette, the microphone should ideally be well forward (most people hold their mobiles incorrectly). Or just use Star Trek style communicators - they just work! Perfect clarity every time, no obvious speaker... And to this effect, headphones would be very different. Either just different shape for in-the-ear 'bud' style headphones (so they don't disappear inside!) or strange shapes of external 'bucket' style headphone that would require interesting shapes to provide good seal and fitment without slipping off or crushing the meatus of the ear in an uncomfortable way. The Pony Trotman to quote Paul Kidd of Tank Vixens fame.
http://squeee.purehubris.com/tankvixens/
Bucket seats with part of the lower back cut out in a C shape would allow furs to sit down and swing the tail in behind - I believe a few sci-fi series have had similar. Seating positions for vehicles with pedals would probably be different too, allowing for the different leg motions required to lift up a foot to push a pedal. Extra bends need room in different areas. General headroom would of course allow ear clearance, for although top of the head may define 'height', no one wants their ears (or horns) banging on doorways as they go through.
Toilets may be solved by the Asian style hole in the ground - as long as you can aim downwards, all good. Maybe a height adjustable seat in the shape of a horizontal C, a post attached at the centre of the C's curve so the tail and everything can be held clear could be mounted over the hole? Provide support with plenty clearance.
Reading/vision glasses could have arms that curl the opposite way so they go up behind the ears from the bottom then hook over the top? Or a 90 degree bend just prior the ears to then loop over the top or the ears? Or over the top of the head in a U shape which sits over the cranium? Not as neat (equivalent of having braces, I'd reckon), but it'd be durable. Appropriate hinges would allow folding. Or rely on cross-tension like some of the straight arm sports glasses. How about a U shape in a modified form of pince-nez to hold about the muzzle? Just because humans lack enough nose to adequately balance a set of spectacles!
I guess you'd either have a sock or garter type things you could put around your tail when riding bikes of what ever sort to keep hair safely contained. Rear mudguards with spats or a rear carrier to help keep clearance, would also help. Probably similar for the food industry or other hazardous areas where the tail needs to be contained. In another fan fiction I am still working on, Natasha keeps her tail safe while riding the motor bike by putting it inside the sports suit against her back in a form of 'hump' that also contains the back protector.
What sort of sling would you use for a broken tail?
Martial arts could include using the tail as a weapon, especially for reptiles, dragons and creatures where the tail is quite strong. Are they technically still reptiles since they have mammories? And are they then warm blooded too? I always believed dragons were monotremes (warm blooded, egg laying, only found in Australia!), so maybe not too much variance to become mammalian?
Pity I haven't finished the Skunkworks fanfiction I started ~3 years ago - it has a few things along these lines addressed, such as Scrapper grumbling about cleaning hear out of the skimmer basket after the skunk sisters had used the spa. Hence why I've considering much of this stuff. Yes, David, I recall I'm supposed to get stories finished - I have not forgotten!
Scrapper, Black Dragon, always thinking, not always time to write it down.
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Received on Mon Sep 29 2008 - 22:20:50 CDT