Mary Roach's unique combination of a broad spectrum of research and an engrossing narrative tone is excellent for me as both a reader and a writer; the off-the-cuff tid-bits she offers as footnotes have spawned several story concepts that are now rattling around in my Very Special Notebook. There's a lot you can do with a cadaver dressed in orange and yellow Lycra.

I find it incredible that when you donate your body to science, you have to sign a specific waiver specifying you are also okay with being used for testing that involves "impacts, blasts, ballistics testing, crash testing and other destructive forces." I want to know who got to that point and refused? It's odd to draw a line in the sand right there. It's okay to be sliced n' diced by a first year med student but not to be used for safety protocols? Personally, I would be thrilled to sign that form - my carcass would love to test out those new Kevlar undies.

The very short portion of Grunt she spends talking about the effects of underbody blasts to the feet was actually far more disgusting than her whole book on dead people.

Without the [fat padding of the heel], the pain of walking is acute. When vitamin A poisoning caused the soles of Antarctic explorer Douglad Mawson's feet to slough off, he stuffed them in the bottom of his boots like Dr. Scholl's cushioning insoles. It was the only way he could go on.

This is a fact I can never unknow and I have Ms. Roach to thank for it.

Reading this was much like looking up just that one article on tvtropes - I have several pages of notes and that was before I even laid my eyes on her bibliography. I imagine one google search will lead me down the rabbit hole for hours. I can't wait.

NEW THING I LEARNED:
A tip on how to steal someone's phone, if I wanted to:

Smart smartphone thieves use the startle reaction to their advantage. They come up behind unsuspecting texters and whap them on the back of the head. The startled victim's arms bend, launching the phone, which is effectively tossed to the thief.