Bonk
The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
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Bonk
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Narrated by:
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Sandra Burr
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By:
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Mary Roach
About this listen
Mary Roach, "The funniest science writer in the country" (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn't Viagra help women - or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm - two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth - can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.
©2008 Mary Roach (P)2008 Brilliance AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,486
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,491
Best-selling author Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside. Roach takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts?
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3 out of 5 stars
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Funtastic Voyage
- By Mel on 04-05-13
By: Mary Roach
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Spook
- Science Tackles the Afterlife
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Bernadette Quigley
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 1,384
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 1,122
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,119
In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a reincarnation researcher and ends up in a University of Virginia operating room where cardiologists have installed equipment near the ceiling to study out-of-body near-death experiences.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Read this book, but don't listen to it!
- By Christine on 11-21-09
By: Mary Roach
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My Planet
- Finding Humor in the Oddest Places
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 582
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 534
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Story4 out of 5 stars 529
Follow New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach - but be careful not to trip - as she weaves through personal anecdotes and everyday musings riddled with her uncanny wit and amazingly analytical eye. These essays, which found a well-deserved home within the pages of Reader's Digest as the column "My Planet," detail the inner workings of hypochondriacs, hoarders, and compulsive cheapskates. (Did we mention neurotic interior designers and professional list makers?) For Roach, humor is hidden in the most unlikely places, which means that nothing is off limits.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator drove me crazy
- By Ann on 04-23-14
By: Mary Roach
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Packing for Mars
- The Curious Science of Life in the Void
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,555
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,489
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,482
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Everything You Always Wanted to Know - and More
- By Roy on 09-22-10
By: Mary Roach
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Stiff
- The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Shelly Frasier
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,375
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,277
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,273
For two thousand years, cadavers have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I worked with cadavers for years, but....
- By POQA on 11-11-12
By: Mary Roach
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Fuzz
- When Nature Breaks the Law
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Mary Roach
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,529
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,287
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,278
What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The footnotes
- By Alex on 09-24-21
By: Mary Roach
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Replaceable You
- Adventures in Human Anatomy
- By: Mary Roach
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
In Replaceable You, Mary Roach sets sail on the uncharted waters of regenerative medicine, exploring the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body’s failings. When and how does a person decide they’d be better off with a prosthetic than their existing limb? Is there a sensitive way to harvest tissue and bones from the deceased? Which animals might be the best organ donors? Through interviews with patients, physicians, pathologists, engineers, and scientists, Roach immerses listeners in the wondrous, improbable, and surreal quest to build a new you.
By: Mary Roach
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Better Left Buried
- By: Mary E. Roach
- Narrated by: Casey Holloway
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Lucy Preston just wants to go on vacation. But being the daughter of a famous private detective means that sometimes, your beach vacay goes off the rails a bit. Think: a clandestine meeting at an abandoned amusement park—except instead of a meeting, Lucy and her mom find a body. Because of course they do.
By: Mary E. Roach
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Gory Details
- By: Erika Engelhaupt
- Narrated by: Mari Weiss
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 451
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 400
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 400
Filled to the brim with far-out facts, this wickedly informative narrative from the author of National Geographic's popular Gory Details blog takes us on a fascinating journey through an astonishing new reality. Blending humor and journalism in the tradition of Mary Roach, acclaimed science reporter Erika Engelhaupt investigates the gross, strange, and morbid absurdities of our bodies and our universe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Feels like old school Discovery channel
- By Anonymous User on 02-15-23
By: Erika Engelhaupt
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A Curious History of Sex
- By: Kate Lister
- Narrated by: Kate Lister
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 229
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 205
Based on the popular research project Whores of Yore, and written with her distinctive humor and wit, A Curious History of Sex draws upon Dr. Kate Lister's extensive knowledge of sex history. From medieval impotence tests to 20th-century testicle thefts, from the erotic frescoes of Pompeii, to modern-day sex-doll brothels, Kate unashamedly roots around in the pants of history, debunking myths, challenging stereotypes, and generally getting her hands dirty.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Too much emphasis on the authors own feelings
- By William Pilling on 04-28-22
By: Kate Lister
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DIY
- The Wonderfully Weird History and Science of Masturbation
- By: Dr. Eric Sprankle
- Narrated by: Eric Sprankle
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story5 out of 5 stars 12
The first-ever social and scientific history of masturbation, which unapologetically critiques a system that has sought to control the very human desire for self-pleasure. Part sex-positive expose, part fascinating science, DIY spotlights generations of sex education countering anti-masturbation pseudoscience with empowering truths about pleasure. This sex book is perfect for fans of Mary Roach books like Bonk or anyone curious about the history of sex and masturbation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved this book!
- By Haugenad on 04-08-25
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The F-ck List
- By: Schahrzad Morgan
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance3 out of 5 stars 9
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 9
After 25 years of marriage, Schahrzad, mother of three, files for divorce and decides to embark on a powerful journey of sexual discovery, liberation and freedom. Her memoir, The F-ck List, takes us on her riveting ride over the course of two years, as she lets go of her inhibitions and explores her relationship to her body, desire, and sexuality. The F-ck List is a woman’s courageous story about healing old wounds, discovering pleasure, and claiming lust. A must read if you want to get turned on.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A.I. can't do everything
- By Teniqué on 01-12-25
By: Schahrzad Morgan
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Kinky History
- A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future
- By: Esmé Louise James
- Narrated by: Esmé Louise James
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Esmé Louise James identifies the key tipping points that directly inform current beliefs around sex to place the past in conversation with the present. By educating ourselves about the weird, wonderful, and varied spectrum of human sexuality and experience, we can normalize and destigmatize sex, write people of marginalized sexual identities back into the pages of history, and build toward a more liberated future.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Love the content, not so much the author/narrator
- By Ashley Waldron on 06-29-24
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Tell Me What You Want
- A Therapist and Her Clients Explore Our 12 Deepest Desires
- By: Charlotte Fox Weber
- Narrated by: Charlotte Fox Weber
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story5 out of 5 stars 7
Each of us, at certain moments in our lives, can feel lost or confused. We often don’t know how to get what we want, but we share some universal desires: to love and be loved; understanding, power, attention, freedom; to create, to belong, to win, to connect, to control; and we want what we shouldn’t. In each of these twelve chapters, focused on one of these desires, psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber takes you behind closed doors of her therapy sessions as she guides clients towards startling insights and profound change.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen to Understand Desire
- By TJ on 06-14-23
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From Here to Eternity
- Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
- By: Caitlin Doughty
- Narrated by: Caitlin Doughty
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,897
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,485
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,473
Fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for their dead. In rural Indonesia, she observes a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body. Grandpa's mummy has lived in the family home for two years, where the family has maintained a warm and respectful relationship. She meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls) and introduces us to a Japanese kotsuage.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Caitlin has done it again
- By Shaun on 10-03-17
By: Caitlin Doughty
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The Psychology of Human Sexuality
- By: Justin J. Lehmiller
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 24 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 9
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Story5 out of 5 stars 9
The Psychology of Human Sexuality is a comprehensive guide to major theoretical perspectives on human sexuality and the vast diversity of sexual attitudes around the world, with topics including anatomy, gender and sexual orientation, sexual behaviors, sexual difficulties and solutions, sex work, and pornography. Written from a sex-positive perspective with material that is inclusive and respectful of a diverse audience, the text includes cutting edge research on the origins of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as new treatments for sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exceptionally Comprehensive!
- By Robert Cooper on 08-17-24
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Notes from a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 824
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 472
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 472
Bill Bryson is an unabashed Anglophile who, through a mistake of history, happened to be born and bred in Iowa. Righting that error, he spent 20 years in England before deciding to repatriate. This was partly to let his wife and children experience life in Bryson's homeland - and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Crackin' yarn, lad!
- By Dave on 03-28-05
By: Bill Bryson
Would you listen to Bonk again? Why?
Yes. A sometime ticklish subject handled with tact and humor. Always interesting.Any additional comments?
After this on try Stiff.Loved It !
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If you could sum up Bonk in three words, what would they be?
irreverent look at sexWhat was one of the most memorable moments of Bonk?
the looks from my co workers whilst listeneingDid you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
it made me laugh at humans in generalSex from every angle
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Delightful find
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Would you listen to Bonk again? Why?
There was a lot of information, well presented, and funny.Any additional comments?
Some of the details were amazing, gross, fantastic, sad - all the more so because they are true. I love Mary Roach books because of this.Loved it
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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
In the middle on this one, it seems that every other paragraph or so ends with a snarky comment that becomes tedious.Has Bonk turned you off from other books in this genre?
Like the genre but will most likely stay away from other books by this author.What does Sandra Burr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
She does her best with the materialWas Bonk worth the listening time?
Once you get past the snark there are some nuggets of good information.Just OK
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learned something
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This book is hilarious and interesting
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Eye opening, witty
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Sandra Burr always does a great job!
I can't wait to read another of Ms Roach's books!
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Space travel, life after death, and now I'm learning about science and sex. Just hilarious. (I just love the idea of a scientist dressing mice up in polyester or cotton pants to see how it affects their sex life.)
Mary Roach really brings science alive. She presents science in an entertaining and educational way. Highly recommended.
Laughed so hard I wet my pants!
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