WEBVTT - Talking 'Gulp' With Mary Roach

0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:05.960
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff

0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:14.920
<v Speaker 1>Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind.

0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:17.520
<v Speaker 1>My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglas, and

0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:19.720
<v Speaker 1>we have another treat for you here as we are

0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.760
<v Speaker 1>about to interview science author Mary Roach, one of one

0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:27.200
<v Speaker 1>of our favorite authors, one of our writing heroes, and

0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:30.280
<v Speaker 1>she has a fascinating new book called Gulp and it

0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:34.080
<v Speaker 1>is all about the adventures of the digestive system. Yes,

0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:36.879
<v Speaker 1>you'll recognize it in stores are online because it has

0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.800
<v Speaker 1>a big mouth on the front, opening up telling lolling

0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:44.159
<v Speaker 1>out um esophagus, waiting for that food to begin this

0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.879
<v Speaker 1>epic journey through the body and uh. And it is

0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:50.159
<v Speaker 1>if you If you've never read Mary Roach before, I

0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.239
<v Speaker 1>just will remind you that she's the author of Stiff,

0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:55.080
<v Speaker 1>which is the book about the life of human goodavers,

0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.840
<v Speaker 1>about about how we relate to dead bodies, how science

0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:03.440
<v Speaker 1>has studied dead bodies. Um. She also wrote Bunk, which

0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.039
<v Speaker 1>is about sex. She wrote Spook, which is about scientific

0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.360
<v Speaker 1>investigations of the afterlife, and more recently she wrote Packing

0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:13.679
<v Speaker 1>for Mars, which is about about human space exploration and

0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:17.120
<v Speaker 1>a lot about the scientific research that has gone into

0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:21.440
<v Speaker 1>making it possible for humans to travel to Mars and

0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:25.720
<v Speaker 1>even return. And she brings that same level of research

0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.760
<v Speaker 1>and humor and inquisition into this topic, which I think

0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:34.120
<v Speaker 1>is a wonderful topic really, from from mouth to sincter. Yeah,

0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:36.320
<v Speaker 1>I mean, she brings so much humor to it, but

0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:38.240
<v Speaker 1>but not in a way that which she's belittling the

0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:42.560
<v Speaker 1>subject matter, like she dynystifies the subject matter, has a

0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:44.720
<v Speaker 1>few laughs with you, but you never feel like she's

0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:48.000
<v Speaker 1>exploiting the topic or anyone. I mean, it's just her

0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.440
<v Speaker 1>books are great from from start to finish. Indeed, So, um,

0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:56.640
<v Speaker 1>let's go ahead and get into it. Well, welcome to

0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:59.480
<v Speaker 1>our podcast, Stuff to blow your mind. Thanks for taking

0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.120
<v Speaker 1>the time out of day to chat with us about

0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:04.640
<v Speaker 1>your excellent new book Goal. Thanks for having me. Yeah,

0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.040
<v Speaker 1>we were so excited. Um. In our podcast we try

0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:10.200
<v Speaker 1>to cover a range of topics, whether or not we're

0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.800
<v Speaker 1>talking about cloeca or um the role of regurgitation with

0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:18.200
<v Speaker 1>vulters um. So the book is right up our alley.

0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:22.120
<v Speaker 1>I love the house, the forks. It's really great. Thank you,

0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:24.000
<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much. It's really nice to hear that

0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:28.440
<v Speaker 1>I have the whole Oh you do Yeah, very cool.

0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.520
<v Speaker 1>It would be an honor to say we've been helpful

0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.160
<v Speaker 1>with Yeah. Yeah, that was my training. That's where I

0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.560
<v Speaker 1>started out with my all right, familiarized myself with because

0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:41.160
<v Speaker 1>it's the whole tube, the whole tube. Yeah, well, thank

0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.040
<v Speaker 1>you so much. Well, I guess we should just go

0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.160
<v Speaker 1>ahead and launch into this. We wanted to know from you.

0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.959
<v Speaker 1>There's so much researching here and so many wonderful little

0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:56.680
<v Speaker 1>nooks and crannies. Was there anything that really surprised you, um,

0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:59.360
<v Speaker 1>any sort of discovery during your research period that you

0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.400
<v Speaker 1>were you have the big moment of like, wow, I

0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:04.520
<v Speaker 1>didn't see it in that context before. It was completely

0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:09.440
<v Speaker 1>new to you. The entire trip down the food shoot,

0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.360
<v Speaker 1>every every turn, I mean even just like even just

0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.320
<v Speaker 1>in the mouse. The saliva is something that I just assumed,

0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.480
<v Speaker 1>like most people, that it was for moistening the food

0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.320
<v Speaker 1>that you need to swallow to make the bowlers. But

0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.320
<v Speaker 1>I was completely blown away by the fact that it's, uh,

0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.280
<v Speaker 1>it's got like five other functions including I love this

0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:33.520
<v Speaker 1>the enzymes and not just in saliva, but in some

0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:38.640
<v Speaker 1>of the other digestive enzymes further on down the line there.

0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:40.960
<v Speaker 1>But these are the enzymes when you hear about laundry

0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:45.640
<v Speaker 1>detergent that says new new improved biz with stain fighting enzymes.

0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.160
<v Speaker 1>These are digestive enzymes, so you know the stuff that

0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:50.600
<v Speaker 1>you spill when you spill your food that is meant

0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:54.000
<v Speaker 1>to be in your mouth onto your clothes. Um, those

0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.920
<v Speaker 1>enzymes are you know, amalas lipase protein as these are

0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.160
<v Speaker 1>digestive enzymes. That just don't know that I found that

0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:05.720
<v Speaker 1>kind of the whole uh laundry detergence like a digestive

0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:08.240
<v Speaker 1>tract in a box. I mean there's obviously other if

0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:11.680
<v Speaker 1>there's your basic soap type products as well, but I

0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.320
<v Speaker 1>just the fact that these were salivary enzymes and that

0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.560
<v Speaker 1>art conservators use use their own saliva to clean because

0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:20.960
<v Speaker 1>of the enzymes. Again, they need a delicate something to

0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.800
<v Speaker 1>break down, maybe the egg wash or something like that. Uh,

0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.560
<v Speaker 1>that they've been known to to use their own saliva.

0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:30.920
<v Speaker 1>So obviously you're hitting up a lot of different places

0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:32.800
<v Speaker 1>talking to a lot of people about the book right now.

0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.080
<v Speaker 1>What's your favorite part of goal that no one's asking

0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:40.920
<v Speaker 1>you about? Um, Well, John Stewart was the only one

0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:45.880
<v Speaker 1>to bring up rectal alimentation rectal feeding, so that's a

0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.480
<v Speaker 1>that's an interesting I had a whole chapter and he's

0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.760
<v Speaker 1>the only one that's brought that up a whole chapter

0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:52.800
<v Speaker 1>on and we didn't have time, of course to get

0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.560
<v Speaker 1>into it in any detail. So um, and I don't

0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:56.960
<v Speaker 1>know if you want to get into it in in

0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.279
<v Speaker 1>a detail, but I I just I have a chapter

0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.360
<v Speaker 1>called eating Backward uh is the digestive track to two

0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:07.080
<v Speaker 1>Way Street. And this was fascinating to me that you can,

0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:10.599
<v Speaker 1>I mean the small intestines where most of the absorption

0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.560
<v Speaker 1>goes on, like eight percent of what you know absorption

0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:17.719
<v Speaker 1>of nutrients. But the rectum does absorb. You can absorb

0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.120
<v Speaker 1>you know, glucose and salt and some short change fatty acids.

0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.240
<v Speaker 1>There's some absorption that can go on. Also drugs. It's

0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.839
<v Speaker 1>a it's a very effective drug delivery system if you

0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:30.039
<v Speaker 1>for some reason you can't swallow them like the ancient

0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:33.440
<v Speaker 1>Maya used to use the rectum because he doesn't have

0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.040
<v Speaker 1>to do. The drug goes straight into the bloodstream, doesn't

0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:37.800
<v Speaker 1>have to be processed by the stomach or the liver.

0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:40.640
<v Speaker 1>It's just like booms into the into the blood. Then

0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:42.760
<v Speaker 1>then you don't if it's one of those hallucinogens that

0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:44.880
<v Speaker 1>would make you throw up. You don't have that problem either.

0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:49.960
<v Speaker 1>So it's so people had some creative uses for the rectum.

0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:51.080
<v Speaker 1>Uh I don't know.