All good research-whether for science or for a book-is a form of obsession. — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Gravity disappears again, and we rise up off the floor like spooks from a grave. It's like the Rapture in here every… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“We are biology. We are reminded of this at the beginning and the end, at birth and at death. In between we… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“The researchers concluded that during intercourse in the missionary position, the penis “has the shape of a boomerang.” — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“I remember watching Morin walk away from me, the endearing gait and the butt that got lubed for science, and thinking, “Oh… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“The human digestive tract is like the Amtrak line from Seattle to Los Angeles: transit time is about thirty hours, and the… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Ultimately, the problem is that sex is perceived as a personal, intimate thing, not in the realm of science. But that's not… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Because there are now online databases of federally funded research, and these databases are searchable by keyword, sex researchers have to be… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“I guess I believe that not everything we humans encounter in our lives can be neatly and convincingly tucked away inside the… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“It’s one thing to get enough evidence to convince yourself, but it’s a whole other matter to produce a demonstration that would… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Science is you! It's your head, it's your dog, it's your iPhone - it's the world. How do you see that as… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Footnote: In 1998, a woman in Saline, Michigan received a patent for a Decorative Penile Wrap...The patent included three pages of drawings,… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Picking my topics is sort of a process of elimination for me. Most things don't work for me. I like to cover… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“With the rise of classical Greece, the soul debate evolved into the more familiar heart-versus-brain, the liver having been demoted to an… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“There, just beyond his open palm, was our mother’s face. I wasn’t expecting it. We hadn’t requested a viewing, and the memorial… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“During World War II, when combat rations were tinned, meat hashes were a common entrée because they worked well with the filling… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“We will be evaluating some nasty oils. You will have to put them in your mouth.* For the good of science. For… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“In a wartime survey conducted by a team of food-habits researchers, only 14 percent of the students at a women’s college said… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Stocks passed my e-mail along to Model Gut senior scientist Richard Faulks. Faulks was dismissive not only of extreme chewing, but also… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I very much was inspired by Bill Bryson. He does cover science, but more often, it's a mixture of science and travel,… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“I challenge you to find a more innocuous sentence containing the words sperm, suction, swallow, and any homophone of seaman. And then… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
The simplest strategy for bouts of noxious flatus is to not care. Or perhaps to take advantage of a gastroenterologist I know:… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“(The caption uses the scientific term for lip-licking: “lateral tongue protrusion.”)” — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I believe that not everything we humans encounter in our lives can be neatly and convincingly tucked away inside the orderly cabinetry… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
In 'Packing for Mars,' I tried to convey the importance of getting young people interested in science. — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Constipation ran Presley's life. Even his famous motto TCB— 'Taking Care of Business'— sounds like a reference to bathroom matters.” — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“What sort of person experimentally infests a child with maggots? A confident sort, certainly. A maverick. Someone comfortable with the unpretty facts… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Most of the people who are engaged in the subjects that I look into are pretty interesting. Whether its sex researchers or… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I've read plenty of amazing science pieces where the writers don't hang out in labs. I just have fun doing it. And… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Saliva has antibacterial properties. It also has things called nerve growth factor, skin growth factor, histatins which help with wound closure. So… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“It's called the FATLOSE trail. FATLOSE stands for 'Fecal Administration To LOSE weight,' an example of PLEASE— Pretty Lame Excuse for an Acronym,… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“think of it.' said Robert Rosenbluth, a doctor whose acquaintance i made at the start of this book. 'no engineer could design… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
For the scientists, they're kind of puzzled and pleased that somebody finds their work interesting. It makes it fun for me. I… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
In the words of the late Francis Crick...You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“While he attends to his rats, Persinger gives me the lowdown on the haunt theory. Why would a certain type of electromagnetic… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“I like the term "decedent." It's as though the man weren't dead, but merely involved in some sort of protracted legal dispute.… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“It’s possible that the reason I've never experienced a ghostly presence is that my temporal lobes aren't wired for it. It could… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Rawson points out that although snakes can’t taste, they have a primitive sense of smell. They’ll extend their tongue to gather volatile molecules and… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“As the number of Inuit who hunt has dwindled, so has the consumption of organs (and other anatomy not available for purchase at the… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“If you look at survivable crashes, it’s rare that even half the emergency exits open,” says Shanahan. “Plus, there’s a lot of panic and… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Viagra isn't the only drug being prescribed off-label for women with arousal problems. Los Angeles urologist Jennifer Berman told me some doctors are prescribing… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Sharing a room with a cadaver is only mildly different from being in a room alone. They are the same sort of company as… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Every now and then, someone will tell me that one of my books has made them laugh out loud. I never believe them because:… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“panel applicants at the initial screening were asked not only to describe the cat foods but also to rate them according to how much… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“* Kissing is a less aggressive form of bacterial transplant. Studies of three different gingivitis-causing bacteria have documented migration from spouse to spouse. Periodontically… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Nirlungayuk reached a similar conclusion. I tracked him down, seventeen years later, and asked him what the outcome of his country-foods campaign had been.… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
