“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
I have a nice little office, with a nice little window in it, but I do basically spend huge amounts of time… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Time to try the palatant. I raise the cup to my nose. It has no smell. I roll some over my tongue.… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I spend a lot of my time on the phone, pestering people. 'What's new in your lab? Can I come visit your… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Spacewalking is a little like rock climbing in that everything, including and especially oneself, must be tethered or docked at all times.… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
A fine book, in the perfect setting, when there's all the time in the world to read it: Life holds greater joys,… — 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… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
One of the maddening ironies of writing books is that it leaves so little time for reading others'. My bedside is piled… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“By the time children are ten years old, generally speaking, they’ve learned to eat like the people around them. Once food prejudices… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
We exist in this weirdly schizo culture, where sex is everywhere in the media, and yet, at the same time, you don't… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Any time you can take a book a little beyond the realm of pure entertainment, I think it's a good thing. But… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“The Inuit, at the time I visited Igloolik, had no tradition of keeping animals as companions. A sled dog was more or… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Weightlessness was unbelievable. It's physical euphoria: Nothing about you has any weight. You don't realize that you are weighed down all the… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Not that there's anything wrong with just lying around on your back. In it's way, rotting is interesting too, as we will… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I am very much out of my element here. There are moments, listening to the conversations going on around me, when I… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“One thing to be said in favor of thorough chewing is that it slows an eater down. This is helpful if that… — 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
