Mary Roach is the author of Stiff, Spook, and most recently Bonk. One of my favorite science writers, here she discusses 10 things you didn’t know about orgasm.
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Spook is the third of Mary Roach’s books that I’ve read this summer. As with her other two books, Spook examines the scientific approach to the paranormal phenomena, such as hauntings and psychics. The history of paranormal investigation is fascinating, including exposure of mediums at the turn of the century. Some of the claims made (a woman giving birth to rabbits?!?) read like Weekly World News headlines.
Mary tackles the topic from the perspective of genuine curiosity, not blind belief or rigid skepticism, which I appreciate. She explores possibilities, such as the effects of infrasound and electromagnetism on human perception. While Bonk is still my favorite of her books, Spook is a pretty good read.
John Hawks, a biological anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, has a recent review of Spook as well.
After reading Bonk, I was curious about Mary Roach’s other books, so I reserved them at the library. I chose to read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers first. Basically, Mary was exploring the options of what to do with your body when you die.
Burial is certainly the most common choice, but for those that donate their body for research, there are a myriad of options, not just being a cadaver in an anatomy lab. She went to the University of Tennessee’s Body Farm to find out exactly what happens to a human body after death, when left to its own devices. Some can end up in the embalming lab at mortician school, or as practice heads for plastic surgeons, or as crash test dummies. She found others in the Harvard Brain Bank, and thought that might be a possibility:
My reasons for becoming a brain donor aren’t very good at all. My reasons boil down to a Harvard Brain Bank donor wallet card,which enables me to say “I’m going to Harvard” and not be lying. You do not need brains to go to the Harvard Brain Bank — only a brain.
What she wanted was to be a brain in jar, a la Abby Normal in Young Frankenstein. She was disappointed to discover the brains sliced and stored in rubbermaid containers in a lab refrigerator.
While this book is not for the squeamish, it’s definitely an interesting read, and gives the reader plenty to think about. Instead of embalming, how about compost?
Bonk! is an interesting look at the scientific study of human sexuality. There’s the requisite chapter on the pioneers, Kinsey and Masters & Johnson, but Mary Roach’s tongue in cheek wit had me giggling through most of it.
There’s also information on current research, including the discovery that the scent of men’s cologne, grilled meat, and cherries turns women off, but a mix of cucumber and candy (specifically Good & Plenty) is a real turn on. Or her visit to an exhibit of homemade sex machines. And her interview with an Egyptian doctor who studied the effects of polyester pants on rat copulation. Turns out, it’s about the same effect as what you would expect for human copulation, though the doctor hypothesizes that the synthetic material creates electrical fields that affect the rat’s genitals, while the author thinks that the observed decreased copulatory frequency might have more to do with dressing like you’re going to a disco.
Funny and informative, Mary Roach’s writing style makes me want to track down her other books, Spook and Stiff.
2010 Science Book Club
July Picks:
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The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers
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Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World by Eugenie Samuel Reich
Recent books:
- Remarkable Creatures by Dr. Sean B. Carroll
- The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Alex & Me by Irene M. Pepperberg
- Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
- Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach