Shrivel

A natural phenomenon where an object, with an attached covering of some kind that is sub-elastic, has its interior volume reduced in some way. The covering, which can not contract any further, is then obliged to wrinkle and buckle, in order to preserve surface area whilst containing the lesser volume. This commonly happens to grapes, scrotums and earthworms. This was first observed by the Greeks and was extensively studied. Later on, humans learned how to initiate shriveling to make some tedious tasks easier. For example, in raisin production manufacturers shrivel grapes in order to produce raisins. In farming, when a bull is domesticated a farmer shrivels up the scrotum of the bull before performing the operation. In the modern day, the phenomenon of shriveling is used in many different industries. In commerical industries, a common technique to shrivel organic material is to saturate it with hydrogen dioxide and let it slowly dessicate. The process takes a while, but it is very cost effective compared to artificial shriveling which requires expensive labor and equipment.

Currently, further applications of shriveling is being examined in the Research and Development despartments of appropriate industries.

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Also, there is a collectible item in Final Fantasy VII and other Final Fantasy games called Shrivel. When Shrivel is used on a target it would induce the "Mini" status effect, which shrinks the target, thus decreasing its attack and defense stats. It can be bought in shops and stolen from some enemies in the City of the Ancients.