The English language...

 I have spent a significant portion of my day reading up on the acceptability of double contractions. This is a direct result of my reading a poorly worded comment on Facebook last night. I have been dwelling on it since. The comment in question used the phrase "shouldn't of" which is a pet peeve of mine. I didn't know the person who left the comment, so I didn't say anything about it - nobody likes a grammar nazi - but it left me more perturbed than usual. Usually I am able to just scowl and aggressively think "shouldn't have" to myself, and let sleeping dogs lie. Last night I was unable to just let it go. My drowsy mind started thinking about double contractions and wondering whether "shouldn't've" was a word, and if it was, how it would be written.

In today's research, it seems that double contractions are fine, just not acceptable for a formal paper. They are mostly common in native speakers and conversational English where words run into each other.

After researching double contractions I read quite a bit about vernacular speech, elder-speak, registers of language, and the difference in language usage between American English and British English (and their subsets and regional dialects). I got lost in a rabbit hole of grammar and language. I haven't studied English actively since High School, but I have always enjoyed exploring speech and writing and am an avid reader. I find occasional recreational exploration of topics of interest to be a refreshing way to exercise my brain in a nonacademic setting. 

Is this research useful? Not really. Does it give you a bit of insight into my brain? I hope so!

What are some topics you research for fun?