"If I am half a scrap of paper, let me turn into a butterfly"

So obviously, origami will always have a special place in my heart.

I would estimate that each contemporary English-language novel makes on average one mention of the word origami. I haven't always been diligent about marking passages that use this word but am trying to do so more and more. I just find it very interesting in a weird obsessive way. Since these are pretty good authors I am reading, the word origami isn't written haphazardly. It's always just the right word. It implies intricacy, elegance, foldedness, balance, etc., what origami is all about. I guess I can't stop thinking about "American Pastoral" (Philip Roth) which, in passing, uses origami to describe a vagina.

From "Survivor" (Chuck Palahniuk):

"The journalist sits across from me. How her legs look with the rest of her body is not too long. She shows just enough ear for earrings. All her problems are hidden inside. All her flaws are underneath. The only smell she gives off, even her breath, is hair spray. How she's folded into her chair, her legs crossed at the knee, her hands folded in her lap, is less good posture than it is some flesh-and-blood origami."

The above passage is this whole multi-sentence description that gets wrapped up in one last word. Origami--intricate, elegant, folded, balanced, etc.--says it all.

From "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" (Michael Chabon) (Thanks althealthfreak for the lend!

"I gathered up my books and papers and noticed that the Spanish Potboiler Guy had left. Where he'd been sitting there were a small empty can of pineapple juice and a little scrap of origami that was like a dog or a saxophone."

Well, Chabon's "origami" is literal. But anyway. I, in my obsessive way, find the use of this word/description very interesting/cool... it also makes me wonder how it's possible that so many people in the US do not know what origami is. I mean, it's a pretty commonly used term. (Having lived in Florida, I would guess that only 50% of the population knows what origami is, crazy as it sounds.)

I also collect moments in movies and TV shows when origami is used. I have a bunch of screencaps. Weird huh. This unicorn from "Bladerunner," I made 70 for a wedding back in the day.