Fannish Osmosis

Synonyms:	Fandom Osmosis
See also:	Fannish Drift, Memes
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Fannish Osmosis is the process by which knowledge diffuses pan-fandom, such that a fan from Fandom A may know assorted facts about Fandom B, without even having been particularly interested in or participatory about Fandom B. Like the scientific principle of osmosis, it appears to happen without any will or obvious action involved, as if in obedience to a law of physics. For example: "Oh yes, Blurty Vulgar courts his fans by mooning them on alternate Thursdays. How did I know that??" "Must be fannish osmosis!"

Fannish osmosis is a process rife with error, based as it is on word-of-mouth (or word-of-website). This built-in error rate is a factor in the change of fannish terms and definitions over time, a process known as fannish drift.

Examples

• Purple Shirt of Sex from Sherlock
• David Hewlett, How Are You So Awesome?
• And now, the weather from Welcome to Night Vale
• That's rough, buddy from Avatar: The Last Airbender
• My Immortal
• The Herbie Series in early Newsies fandom

Examples of Usage

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.