Mary Roach cytaty

„Myślałam kiedyś, żeby napisać książkę o szympansach, ale zdecydowałam się zarzucić ten pomysł z powodów, które wcześniej wymieniłam. Fajnie się je obserwuje, wywołują żywe uczucia, ale nie można z nimi wchodzić w jakieś kontrolowane interakcje – wszystko co można, to je po prostu opisywać. Film jest lepszym medium dla przedstawiania szympansów i nie mam tu wcale na myśli przebranych szympansów „grających” w filmach. Choć zdradzę ci wstydliwy sekret – lubię tego rodzaju scenki.”

„Jest mi ciężko pisać o zwierzętach z kilku powodów. Po pierwsze, trudno je cytować. Po drugie, kiedy pisze się o zwierzętach w naukowym kontekście, zwykle tematem nie są szczęśliwe zwierzęta i nie jest wówczas łatwo silić się na poczucie humoru.”

“Life contains these things: leakage and wickage and discharge, pus and snot and slime and gleet. We are biology. We are reminded of this at the beginning and the end, at birth and at death. In between we do what we can to forget.”

“We are biology. We are reminded of this at the beginning and the end, at birth and at death. In between we do what we can to forget.”

“The human head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken. I have never before had occasion to make the comparison, for never before today have I seen a head in a roasting pan.”

“It is the mind that speaks a woman's heart, not the vaginal walls.”

“Death. It doesn't have to be boring.”

“All good research-whether for science or for a book-is a form of obsession.”

“You are a person and then you cease to be a person, and a cadaver takes your place.”

“Hormones are nature's three bottles of beer.”

“Yes, the money could be better spent on Earth. But would it? Since when has money saved by government redlining been spent on education and cancer research? It is always squandered. Let's squander some on Mars. Let's go out and play.”

“The paper does not provide the exact number of penises eaten by ducks, but the author says there have been enough over the years to prompt the coining of a popular saying: 'I better get home or the ducks will have something to eat.”

“In my experience, the most staunchly held views are based on ignorance or accepted dogma, not carefully considered accumulations of facts. The more you expose the intricacies and realtities of the situation, the less clear-cut things become.”

“Many people will find this book disrespectful. There is nothing amusing about being dead, they will say. Ah, but there is.”