1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglas, and 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: we have another treat for you here as we are 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: about to interview science author Mary Roach, one of one 6 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: of our favorite authors, one of our writing heroes, and 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: she has a fascinating new book called Gulp and it 8 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: is all about the adventures of the digestive system. Yes, 9 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 1: you'll recognize it in stores are online because it has 10 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: a big mouth on the front, opening up telling lolling 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: out um esophagus, waiting for that food to begin this 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 1: epic journey through the body and uh. And it is 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: if you If you've never read Mary Roach before, I 14 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 1: just will remind you that she's the author of Stiff, 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: which is the book about the life of human goodavers, 16 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: about about how we relate to dead bodies, how science 17 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: has studied dead bodies. Um. She also wrote Bunk, which 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: is about sex. She wrote Spook, which is about scientific 19 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: investigations of the afterlife, and more recently she wrote Packing 20 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: for Mars, which is about about human space exploration and 21 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: a lot about the scientific research that has gone into 22 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: making it possible for humans to travel to Mars and 23 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: even return. And she brings that same level of research 24 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: and humor and inquisition into this topic, which I think 25 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: is a wonderful topic really, from from mouth to sincter. Yeah, 26 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,320 Speaker 1: I mean, she brings so much humor to it, but 27 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: but not in a way that which she's belittling the 28 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: subject matter, like she dynystifies the subject matter, has a 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: few laughs with you, but you never feel like she's 30 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: exploiting the topic or anyone. I mean, it's just her 31 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: books are great from from start to finish. Indeed, So, um, 32 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: let's go ahead and get into it. Well, welcome to 33 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: our podcast, Stuff to blow your mind. Thanks for taking 34 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: the time out of day to chat with us about 35 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: your excellent new book Goal. Thanks for having me. Yeah, 36 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: we were so excited. Um. In our podcast we try 37 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: to cover a range of topics, whether or not we're 38 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: talking about cloeca or um the role of regurgitation with 39 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: vulters um. So the book is right up our alley. 40 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: I love the house, the forks. It's really great. Thank you, 41 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. It's really nice to hear that 42 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: I have the whole Oh you do Yeah, very cool. 43 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: It would be an honor to say we've been helpful 44 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: with Yeah. Yeah, that was my training. That's where I 45 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: started out with my all right, familiarized myself with because 46 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: it's the whole tube, the whole tube. Yeah, well, thank 47 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: you so much. Well, I guess we should just go 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: ahead and launch into this. We wanted to know from you. 49 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,959 Speaker 1: There's so much researching here and so many wonderful little 50 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: nooks and crannies. Was there anything that really surprised you, um, 51 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: any sort of discovery during your research period that you 52 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: were you have the big moment of like, wow, I 53 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: didn't see it in that context before. It was completely 54 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: new to you. The entire trip down the food shoot, 55 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: every every turn, I mean even just like even just 56 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: in the mouse. The saliva is something that I just assumed, 57 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: like most people, that it was for moistening the food 58 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: that you need to swallow to make the bowlers. But 59 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: I was completely blown away by the fact that it's, uh, 60 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: it's got like five other functions including I love this 61 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: the enzymes and not just in saliva, but in some 62 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: of the other digestive enzymes further on down the line there. 63 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: But these are the enzymes when you hear about laundry 64 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: detergent that says new new improved biz with stain fighting enzymes. 65 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: These are digestive enzymes, so you know the stuff that 66 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: you spill when you spill your food that is meant 67 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: to be in your mouth onto your clothes. Um, those 68 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: enzymes are you know, amalas lipase protein as these are 69 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: digestive enzymes. That just don't know that I found that 70 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: kind of the whole uh laundry detergence like a digestive 71 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: tract in a box. I mean there's obviously other if 72 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: there's your basic soap type products as well, but I 73 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: just the fact that these were salivary enzymes and that 74 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: art conservators use use their own saliva to clean because 75 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: of the enzymes. Again, they need a delicate something to 76 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: break down, maybe the egg wash or something like that. Uh, 77 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: that they've been known to to use their own saliva. 78 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: So obviously you're hitting up a lot of different places 79 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: talking to a lot of people about the book right now. 80 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: What's your favorite part of goal that no one's asking 81 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: you about? Um, Well, John Stewart was the only one 82 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: to bring up rectal alimentation rectal feeding, so that's a 83 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: that's an interesting I had a whole chapter and he's 84 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: the only one that's brought that up a whole chapter 85 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: on and we didn't have time, of course to get 86 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: into it in any detail. So um, and I don't 87 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: know if you want to get into it in in 88 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: a detail, but I I just I have a chapter 89 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: called eating Backward uh is the digestive track to two 90 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: Way Street. And this was fascinating to me that you can, 91 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: I mean the small intestines where most of the absorption 92 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: goes on, like eight percent of what you know absorption 93 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: of nutrients. But the rectum does absorb. You can absorb 94 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: you know, glucose and salt and some short change fatty acids. 95 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: There's some absorption that can go on. Also drugs. It's 96 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: a it's a very effective drug delivery system if you 97 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: for some reason you can't swallow them like the ancient 98 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: Maya used to use the rectum because he doesn't have 99 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: to do. The drug goes straight into the bloodstream, doesn't 100 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: have to be processed by the stomach or the liver. 101 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: It's just like booms into the into the blood. Then 102 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: then you don't if it's one of those hallucinogens that 103 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: would make you throw up. You don't have that problem either. 104 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: So it's so people had some creative uses for the rectum. 105 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: Uh I don't know.