Prompt: Random fact oneshot
Shortly after season 4 ~
"Uh oh," Kai sniffed the air cautiously, "Cole's night to cook. I forgot."
"Ugh, why do we let him keep going?" Jay complained. "Zane's so good at it and he's a robot, it's not like he would get tired of cooking every night."
"He is right here," Zane reminded him, "and I do get tired of doing the same thing repeatedly. I may be a Nindroid, but I am quite convincing if I do say so myself. Not so long ago even I believed myself to be an ordinary human."
"You were never ordinary, buddy" Kai patted Zane on the back.
"Yeah, I'll say" Jay snorted.
Zane glared at them both. "I do, however, have a perfect memory unlike a human. I will remember these remarks the next time it is my turn to cook" he threatened.
~
Everyone at the table ate slowly, taking small bites and dumping more of their dinner on each other's plates when Cole wasn't looking. Only Zane ate peacefully. After a moment he paused and excused himself from the table to unhinge his lower jaw and pull some of the meal that had twisted and jammed in his motors out. The others all watched in horror at the sight of their friend practically removing his lower face and replacing it. They pushed their plates away from them, having been given a valid excuse to stop eating.
"Not to criticize, Cole, but.. why do you always cook something that sticks or stretches?" Lloyd asked carefully. Jay nodded in agreement, unable to speak for the moment as his teeth were stuck together.
"It's one of my specialties. You all complain about how it's sticky, but the flavor? Haven't heard a thing from any of you" Cole said proudly.
"Mmmm" Jay grumbled.
"Okay, well even if you did have complaints it's not me! You lose up to thirty percent of your sense of taste in flight, you know."
"There is no way that's true" Kai contested.
"Actually, Cole is not mistaken," Zane interjected, "A recent study showed elevation has a detrimental effect on our ability to taste. The dryness experienced at higher elevations as well as low pressure reduces the sensitivity of human taste buds for sweet and salty foods by around thirty percent. The dry cabin air of most airborne vehicles also affects the sense of smell, further diminishing one's sense of taste."
"Well, very educational. It's nice having our very own walking source of infinite knowledge" Lloyd complemented.
"Oh yeah? Well, you're not the only fact machine, Zane!" Kai retorted.
"I am not a 'fact machine'" Zane said, slightly irritated.
"Well, did you know your fingernails and hair continue growing after you die?"
"That is not quite accurate. In order for hair or nails to grow, they require glucose, which is cut off after the heart stops beating. The skin around the hair follicles and nails dehydrates after death and retracts slightly, providing the illusion that a deceased person's fingernails and hair have grown longer."
"Ugh, whatever" Kai threw his hands up and sat back, defeated.
~ Halfway through writing this story I realized a problem; Ninjago doesn't have airplanes! How do they know people lose taste when they fly? My headcanon is it was a study done during the Rebooted days, when they had the hovercar things (Zane's Ninjacopter, what is that called?), and other flying vehicles.
I found an article with 175 random facts but I still haven't read past the first 20 I got so many ideas for random stuff like this. Both facts are true for real life, at least according to my findings.
This story also gave rise to my new headcanon that, for whatever reason, Kai is offended by Zane being the go-to trivia guy. Often times when the group is hanging around and it goes quiet, he'll spout a random fact to try and beat Zane. Unfortunately, it's usually slightly misinformed so Zane has to correct him.
