--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were no other conspicuous orifices…" description: "\"“There were no other conspicuous orifices; perhaps their mouth was their anus too. Those sorts of questions would have to wait.”\" — Ted Chiang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/ted-chiang-11432_quote_there-were-no-other-conspicuous-orifices_1789093.jpg" --- # There were no other conspicuous orifices; perhaps their… ![“There were no other conspicuous orifices; perhaps their mouth was their anus too. Those sorts of questions would have to wait.” quote by Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/ted-chiang-11432_quote_there-were-no-other-conspicuous-orifices_1789093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/ted-chiang-11432_quote_there-were-no-other-conspicuous-orifices_1789093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/ted-chiang-11432_quote_there-were-no-other-conspicuous-orifices_1789093.jpg) > ““There were no other conspicuous orifices; perhaps their mouth was their anus too. Those sorts of questions would have to wait.”” [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator suggests that some beings may lack conventional anatomy, implying alien biology can differ radically from human norms. **In simple terms:** Alien bodies may be very different. Key Takeaway Expect the unexpected in alien design. Themes biology speculation anthropology science fiction Mood thoughtful curious Type speculative philosophical When to use this quote - science fiction writing - philosophical debate - educational illustration Key Concepts xenobiology perception unknown anatomy Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about our assumptions of life? - How can we broaden our concept of biology? A Different Perspective Assumes human-centric view limits imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anus/) [Conspicuous Orifices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspicuous-orifices-1929816/) [Mouth Anus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouth-anus-1929815/) [Orifices Mouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orifices-mouth-1929814/) [Questions Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-wait-410388/) ## Related quotes > [...all the answers are but waiting for us while we, poor fools, ask questions and wait for the secrets of God to open themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/all-the-answers-are-but-waiting-for-us-while-we-poor-fools-ask/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) > [“I’d have given any- thing to know how Mom and Dad were, but you can’t ask your parents such questions. You have to wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-kephart/i-d-have-given-any-thing-to-know-how-mom-and-dad-were-but-you-can-t/) [Beth Kephart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-kephart/) > [As for the differences of opinion upon speculative questions, if we wait till they are reconciled, the action of human affairs must be suspended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius/as-for-the-differences-of-opinion-upon-speculative-questions-if-we/) [Junius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius/) > [“A brick could be used to decorate the interior of your anus. Here, bend over and let me demonstrate. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-decorate-the-interior-of-your-anus-here-bend/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Therein lies the rub of a place like Berkeley Bowl. You get seduced by an 11-pound apple that turns out to be a fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jad-abumrad/therein-lies-the-rub-of-a-place-like-berkeley-bowl-you-get-seduced-by/) [Jad Abumrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jad-abumrad/) > [We never had a pool, right. So one summer, I remember. My dad, to make me happy. You know I was bummed out cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/we-never-had-a-pool-right-so-one-summer-i-remember-my-dad-to-make-me/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Kiss my ass n' my anus, cuz its finally famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/kiss-my-ass-n-my-anus-cuz-its-finally-famous/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [Funding a civilization through advertising is like trying to get nutrition by connecting a tube from one’s anus to one’s mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/funding-a-civilization-through-advertising-is-like-trying-to-get/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Kiss my ass and my anus, cause its finally famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/kiss-my-ass-and-my-anus-cause-its-finally-famous/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [God wasted a prefectly good anus by putting teeth in your mouth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-e/god-wasted-a-prefectly-good-anus-by-putting-teeth-in-your-mouth/) [Tom E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-e/) > [“Don Truby thought about Kelly Ripa’s anus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-kultgen/don-truby-thought-about-kelly-ripa-s-anus/) [Chad Kultgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-kultgen/) > [I do not like the Broadway theatre because it does not know how to say hello. The tone of voice is false, the mannerisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-beck/i-do-not-like-the-broadway-theatre-because-it-does-not-know-how-to/) [Julian Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-beck/) > [What you accomplish in life is limited only by your imagination and the fear of reprisal. Life is too fleeting and unrewarding to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/what-you-accomplish-in-life-is-limited-only-by-your-imagination-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [“Shoes off in the whale! And don't try and make a break for the anus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/shoes-off-in-the-whale-and-don-t-try-and-make-a-break-for-the-anus/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“Any discussion of the sexuality of the digestive tract must inevitably touch on the anus. Anal tissue is among the most densely innervated on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/any-discussion-of-the-sexuality-of-the-digestive-tract-must/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More by Ted Chiang > [“The physical universe was a language with a perfectly ambiguous grammar. Every physical event was an utterance that could be parsed in two entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/the-physical-universe-was-a-language-with-a-perfectly-ambiguous/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Women who work with animals hear this all the time: that their love for animals must arise out of a sublimated child-rearing urge. Ana's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/women-who-work-with-animals-hear-this-all-the-time-that-their-love/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Contemplate the marvel that is existence, and rejoice that you are able to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/contemplate-the-marvel-that-is-existence-and-rejoice-that-you-are/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“Perhaps men were not meant to live in such a place. If their own natures restrained them from approaching heaven too closely, then men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/perhaps-men-were-not-meant-to-live-in-such-a-place-if-their-own/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [It is a misconception to think that during evolution humans sacrificed physical skill in exchange for intelligence: wielding one's body is a mental activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/it-is-a-misconception-to-think-that-during-evolution-humans/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“And then there will be the times when I see you laughing. Like the time you’ll be playing with the neighbor’s puppy, poking your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/and-then-there-will-be-the-times-when-i-see-you-laughing-like-the/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“When Arecibo is not listening to anything else, it hears the voice of creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/when-arecibo-is-not-listening-to-anything-else-it-hears-the-voice-of/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Similarly, knowledge of the future was incompatible with free will. What made it possible for me to exercise freedom of choice also made it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/similarly-knowledge-of-the-future-was-incompatible-with-free-will/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“the ray of light has to know where it will ultimately end up before it can choose the direction to begin moving”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/the-ray-of-light-has-to-know-where-it-will-ultimately-end-up-before/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“Yet through their endeavor, men would glimpse the unimaginable artistry of Yahweh's work, in seeing how ingeniously the world had been constructed. By this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/yet-through-their-endeavor-men-would-glimpse-the-unimaginable/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Brain damage is never a good idea, no matter what your friends say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/brain-damage-is-never-a-good-idea-no-matter-what-your-friends-say/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“I would have liked to experience more of the heptapods' worldview, to feel the way they feel. Then, perhaps I could immerse myself fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/i-would-have-liked-to-experience-more-of-the-heptapods-worldview-to/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“Branches are generated by any quantum event, right? Even before we had prisms, branches were still splitting off constantly; we just didn’t have access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/branches-are-generated-by-any-quantum-event-right-even-before-we-had/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“Ease of learning isn’t the primary force in language evolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/ease-of-learning-isn-t-the-primary-force-in-language-evolution/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [“The hush of the night sky is the silence of a graveyard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/the-hush-of-the-night-sky-is-the-silence-of-a-graveyard/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) [Explore all 58 Ted Chiang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) ## More Anus quotes > [Therein lies the rub of a place like Berkeley Bowl. You get seduced by an 11-pound apple that turns out to be a fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jad-abumrad/therein-lies-the-rub-of-a-place-like-berkeley-bowl-you-get-seduced-by/) [Jad Abumrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jad-abumrad/) > [“Don Truby thought about Kelly Ripa’s anus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-kultgen/don-truby-thought-about-kelly-ripa-s-anus/) [Chad Kultgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-kultgen/) > [“A brick could be used to decorate the interior of your anus. Here, bend over and let me demonstrate. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-decorate-the-interior-of-your-anus-here-bend/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Shoes off in the whale! And don't try and make a break for the anus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/shoes-off-in-the-whale-and-don-t-try-and-make-a-break-for-the-anus/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [What you accomplish in life is limited only by your imagination and the fear of reprisal. Life is too fleeting and unrewarding to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/what-you-accomplish-in-life-is-limited-only-by-your-imagination-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I do not like the Broadway theatre because it does not know how to say hello. The tone of voice is false, the mannerisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-beck/i-do-not-like-the-broadway-theatre-because-it-does-not-know-how-to/) [Julian Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-beck/) > [“Any discussion of the sexuality of the digestive tract must inevitably touch on the anus. Anal tissue is among the most densely innervated on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/any-discussion-of-the-sexuality-of-the-digestive-tract-must/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [God wasted a prefectly good anus by putting teeth in your mouth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-e/god-wasted-a-prefectly-good-anus-by-putting-teeth-in-your-mouth/) [Tom E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-e/) > [Kiss my ass and my anus, cause its finally famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/kiss-my-ass-and-my-anus-cause-its-finally-famous/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [Funding a civilization through advertising is like trying to get nutrition by connecting a tube from one’s anus to one’s mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/funding-a-civilization-through-advertising-is-like-trying-to-get/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Kiss my ass n' my anus, cuz its finally famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/kiss-my-ass-n-my-anus-cuz-its-finally-famous/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [We never had a pool, right. So one summer, I remember. My dad, to make me happy. You know I was bummed out cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/we-never-had-a-pool-right-so-one-summer-i-remember-my-dad-to-make-me/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [My father was swallowed alive by his own anus. It was a terrible way to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/my-father-was-swallowed-alive-by-his-own-anus-it-was-a-terrible-way/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > [I saw some amazing, beautiful, invigorating parts of America, but I saw some dark parts of America, an ugly side of America, a side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sacha-baron-cohen/i-saw-some-amazing-beautiful-invigorating-parts-of-america-but-i-saw/) [Sacha Baron Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sacha-baron-cohen/) > [I've been abducted and probed in the anus. On purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delonge/i-ve-been-abducted-and-probed-in-the-anus-on-purpose/) [Tom DeLonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delonge/) [Browse all 39 Anus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There were no other conspicuous orifices; perhaps their mouth was their anus too. 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