Showcased on a table was a trade paperback entitled Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by Mary Roach. The cover, for those unfamiliar with the book, featured two feet, the title printed on a toe-tag. The book was already sold at this point, but I flipped it over to read the synopsis anyway. Ten minutes later I was on a parkbench waiting for the bus, flipping through the pages as mad as I could.I had found a new author to come to my “favorites” team.
Obviously, the science behind cadavers and the destination roadmaps that Mary Roach draws are fascinating, no doubt. I’ve read books that were also “fascinating” and “scientific” and ended up chucking them down a couple dozen times before completion, the technical writing is tedious and the heart is nonexistent. What made “Stiff” stand out was the author. Firstly, Mary Roach has emotion in everything she writes: when she’s giddy, the reader is giddy; when she’s disgusted, so are we. Secondly, Mary Roach brings humor into the equation. When the reader is about to put the book down due to graphic, squeamish descriptions, you read on because Mary cracks a joke that makes all the icky seem okay. And finally, the research. Reading a book like this made me feel smarter. It wasn’t conversation that I’d use at a dinner party (though, several times the conversation turned to zombies and I was instantly talking cadavers with people).
I’ve always thought of Mary Roach as someone I need to have dinner with, right there with Jesus and the Siddhartha. I’ve also relished the opportunity to play Trivial Pursuit with Mary, just to see if I can hang (of course, during the course of the interview I got to, sort of, play a little Trivial Pursuit).
, her most recent release, made it to my Top Ten Books of 2009, not that matters to you. In my opinion, it is the best book that she’s written. Upcoming, she’s showcasing her well-rounded knowledge on all things, she’ll release a book on space exploration. When it hits, it’s got a place on my bookshelf.I was privileged with an interview. One I’ll never forget. In fact, I've still got a warm part in my heart from Mary saying the questions were "kick ass". We talk about Javier Bardem, penis cameras, stupidity in culture, and so much more.
Eric Mays: Mary, thank you for agreeing to the interview. I want to get this out first, if that’s okay. You’re attractive, you’re insanely smart, and you’re absolutely hilarious. Is your husband the luckiest man on the planet?
Mary Roach: Nope. I’m impatient, cheap, pessimistic, thin-skinned, and useless in the kitchen. Ed is none of these things. You got it backward: I’m the luckiest woman on the planet.
EM: Kudos, Ed! I’ve heard people say that they would love to just stay in college and learn as much as they could. I’ve always said that I’m addicted to research (not education). And let’s face it, researching is far cheaprer than attending classes and accruing debt. I think my love of research is why I write. You are meticulous with your research. It’s one of the reasons I always come back to your books. What are some of the things that fascinate you?
MR: Things in my books, of course – the human body, unexpected things going on in science labs, ectoplasm, penis cameras, etc. Outside my books? Let’s see. Hoarders, weevils, Stone Age tribes, people who shoot other people because they took their last beer in the refrigerator, ‘50s and ‘60s television commercials, India, slime molds and biofils, overseas supermarkets, subnivean mammals, Sumo wrestling, corporate marketing strategies for adult diapers (there was one called “Rejoice”), plastic surgery, and bats.
Eric Mays: That’s it? When I research, as I’m sure can be said of others, I sometimes find a factoid and go off on a tanget. How did you train yourself to remain focused at all times?
MR: I don’t. I put all that stuff in the footnotes. It’s indulgent, but I can’t help myself.
Eric Mays: I’m assuming with all the research that you’ve done, you’ve got a pretty good game of Trivial Pursuit in you, huh? Let’s try a question, shall we? Category: Products and Progress. Questions: What was the trademarked name of the first adhesive bandage?
MR: I don’t know, but I will share with you the name of the adhesive bandages I bought in London last year when my shoe gave me a blister: Stops Bleeding Plasters. How do you ask for that by name at the drugstore? “Do you sell stops bleeding plasters?” It’s just four random verb forms.*
EM: Okay, all kidding aside…your research is amazing. We’ve established that. In “Bonk” one of your footnotes refers to a publication from Oscar Meyer (I believe an article saying that the processed meat is not actually meat, but engineered to fool the tastebuds). How do you find this stuff?
MR: It has to do with that distraction factor. I’ll be looking up an old Lancet article on, say, the consumption of pickled onions as a cure for sea-sickness, and my eye will wander across to the facing page where the headline says, I don’t know, “Meat Bee Infestation at St. Stephen’s Hospital”. I read bibliographies, ads in the corners of old magazines, tables of contents of old back issues of journals. I like to turn over rocks. I like the surprise factor. I like to open myself up to randomness and see where it takes me.
EM: Let’s go back to “Stiff”, shall we? Death and dealing with death is a viable fear in a lot of people across the world. When I was younger I was terribly freaked out. However, reading “Stiff” calmed my nerves a little and made me face it head-on. What compelled you to tell the stories of human cadavers?
MR: No compulsion was involved. It simply grew out of a couple of old Salon columns that got very high hit rates – one on crash test dummies and one, a Thanksgiving column, on how much the human stomach will hold without bursting. (Someone had sat a cadaver at a dinner table and proceeded to fill him up.) I’d been talking to an agent around that time and it was one of several possible ideas we were kicking around.
Cadaver research seemed like one of the last things left on Earth that no one had written about. It was either that or lettuce. Or maybe not even lettuce. There’s probably a lavishly illustrated volume on lettuce out there somewhere.
EM: Since there’s a fascination with cadavers, do you like zombies? I know it seems odd, but bear with me.
MR: I have a soft spot for zombies. They’re like stray dogs. They’re just doing what they can to survive.
EM: Are you familiar with a zombie book called “Breathers” by S.G. Browne? In that book he thanks you and ties in the zombie mythos with some of your cadaver “destinations”, shall we say.
MR: Yes. He sent me a copy and I am ashamed that I have not yet read it. That’s the downside of writing books for a living – you don’t have much time to read them. The duty reading pile is always too high.
EM: A lot of people like zombies these days. Would you ever write “Shuffle: Science Explains the Undead”?
MR: Are you kidding me? If I could find the labs where they’re doing the work I’d be all over it like a cheap bloody suit.
EM: From “Stiff” you went to “Spook”, explaining the afterlife scientifically. Another death book. It was like, “Oh, the girl that writes about death is back at it.” I’m kidding, of course. But seriously, were you worried that people were going to call you the “death girl”?
MR: It was a minor consideration. I don’t care what people call me, as long as they do it behind my back.
EM: Explaining the afterlife scientifically sounds like it could cross some thin ice. Did you receive any backlash from devout religious communities?
MR: No. Just from people who take mediums and psychics seriously. People who believe themselves in contact with dead reltaives, via mediums or whatever, were disappointed that the book didn’t confirm their beliefs. Part of the problem is that bookstores sometimes shelved in in New Age/Spirituality. Thanks, guys.
MR: I stumbled onto a reference to the Masters and Johnson penis-camera. (Don’t you love that her name was Johnson? That seriously just occurred to me.) Anyway, it was one of those moments where you go, “That’s it!” Right there. Next book. I rarely have those moments, but this was one of them.
EM: You actually put yourself up (and your hubby) as a human guinea pig for sex research in France. That’s going a little about and beyond, isn’t it? How do you convince your husband (whose name will not appear on the byline of the book) to go along?
MR: I bribe him shamelessly. Free trip to London, two-star accomodation! He’s incredibly supportive. And also, he made the mistake of saying, when I first started the book: “Sex research? Sign me up!”
Above and beyond that? Not really. More of a necessity. You try getting access, as a person with a reporter’s notebook, to a study like that. Very awkward for all parties. And often prohibited by the subject review board. Often the only way to be present is to be the awkward one(s) yourself.
EM: Next time, if there’s ever an experiment that needs human testing, let me know and I’ll jump on board. You can study my reactions to bee venom, or how long a human can last trapped inside a vending machine. Deal?
MR: Be careful what you wish for. My next book is a history of suppositories.
EM: Touche! In “Bonk”, you dabble into a world that is still uncomfortable to talk about. I still hear people having difficulty discussing female orgasm, for example, and reducing it to nothing more than a few cliché jokes. Is it just that we know so little about sex? Is that why there is this uncomfortable stigma attached?
MR: Culturally, historically, sex has been a taboo subject. Taboos take time to dissolve. We’ve come a long way – at least in certain parts of the country – but I think it’s just a slow process. Certain words just carry an electrical charge: orgasm, masturbation, clitoris. They just lose their charge as people hear them and say them openly. Jon Stewart has helped a great deal in this regard. Comedy Central in general, really. I’m doing what I can, too!
EM: One of the common denominators from all your writing is the ability to bring humor into any situation. Your style lends itself to a hearty laugh per page. I believe that humor and entertainment should be merged into education. When I briefly worked in the classroom I used that. The teachers I learned the most from used humor and quirks to educate. Do you feel that humor – well, entertaining as a whole – is still important in the classrooms or in “the learning process”?
MR: Yes, big time! My funniest teacher ever, Warren Demont, taught physics. I remember more from that class than any other. Which isn’t saying much, but still.
EM: Mary, is our society getting dumber? Or is it just my imagination?
MR: I fear it, Eric. I do. For sure there is less and less shame in ignorance. Last week I drove by some clothing store that had based a whole ad campaign on the glorification of stupidity. It was something like, “Smart Gets the Grades; Stupid Has More Fun on Spring Break”. It was like the Bizarro Goofus and Gallant.
("Packing for Mars" will be released on August 2nd, 2010)
MR: Did you see the New York Times headline a couple of days ago? Obama just made Mars and a near-Earth asteroid the new targets for manned exploration. We’re finally going to be exploring again. And the first commercial flights are supposed to go up next year, which means you and I can finally get in on the act.
EM: Finally, if you could collaborate with anyone on a project, who would it be and why?
MR: Javier Bardem. Just so I could lean over and smell his neck.
EM: Thank you, Mary!
MR: Thank you.
Ah, Mary Roach. If there's a more entertaining science scribe out there, please let me know. Neil Tyson Degrasse is close (and I do always learn from him). Still, I'm not sure there's anything quite like Mary Roach. Yes, it sounds as if I have a slight crush, and maybe I do. That's not a bad thing.
If you've not read "Stiff", I encourage you to do so. It's still one of the best books I've ever read and I've purchased or lent out too many copies to remember. "Bonk", is good too.
Next week, we veer away from the science field but keep with the corpses. The Mojo Storyteller, himself, Joe R. Lansdale will be with us. If you're unsure of Joe R. Lansdale, then I definitely encourage you to visit the local library. The man is huge amongst the mystery and horror genres - he gave us the story that "Bubba Ho-Tep" was based on. So, grab your spurs and gas up as we plow through the wilds of East Texas.
*See, I can use footnotes too! The answer, for those playing along at home, is “Band-Aids”. And, since Mary diverted the question (regardless of the hilarity of her stops bleeding plasters anecdote) I’m claiming the win on this one. One to nothing, me!
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