The Worst Book I Have Ever Read - Gulp: Travels Around the Gut by Mary Roach

TET and Mary Roach's Book, Gulp.

I'm the kind of person who only reads one physical book at a time. For context I consider a 'book' to be anything over 100 pages of mostly text. Basically your typical work of fiction novel or factual biography.

It's not that I can't read more than one book at a time, I just choose not to because I don't set a lot of time aside for reading. Maybe 30 minutes a day when I'm on a good run with a really engaging text.

Little did I know that Mary Roach's Gulp: Travels Around the Gut*, a book of 317 pages (minus the Acknowledgments and Bibliography) would become a bottle neck for my reading for the next three and a half years. As such, I'm calling it the worst book I have ever read.

Despite how long it took me to read, it is not a bad book in the slightest, and is in fact, quite light, somewhat entertaining, reading for a book that explores the science, and the resilience of the human digestive system.

I'm no stranger to reading science texts designed to make more consumable reading of difficult subjects like Quantum Theory. For a while, in my mid twenties, I went through a stretch of reading such books just to see if I was smart enough to not just get through them but to understand them as well.

The problem is, I was recommended this book by YouTuber, and self proclaimed shitty robots maker queen, Simone Giertz. She randomly recommended the book in one of her videos (that I can't find now) not for sponsorship reasons but just as a book she thought her viewers may find interesting.

Though in looking for the video I discovered that Simone and Mary were once on the same bill for a speaking engagement back in 2016, Nerd Nite East Bay #43, which is likely how Simone came by Mary's next book after Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War.

Anyway, she said something along the lines of if you ever wanted to know the ins and outs of how the human digestive system works then Mary's book was just the ticket. As someone who's had a somewhat challenging relationship with my insides I thought it may give me some clues beyond my local GP's 'It's probably a virus' and 'I don't really know' insights.

Unfortunately the book was not what I was expecting at all. Sure, I expected some science on how the whole digestive system works, I just wasn't really prepared for an entire history (seemingly) on the study and science behind every part of the process of eating, digesting, and excreting.

That's what the book is. It doesn't really offer any solutions if you do have any digestive issues, though you may piece something together that may relate to what you're dealing with, from what you learn.

Beyond that it's a start to finish account of how each part of our digestive system works, along with a tour through some of the most interesting and curious studies that have been done on various parts over the years, decades, maybe even centuries.

However, since it starts in the mouth, I was determined to take this journey to the very end... and it does end with shit... quite literally, as the final part of the system. It's literally a shitty ending. I thought I might learn something useful.

As it turns out, it's not a book I enjoyed reading even though it's not a difficult read, and humorous in places. Eventually I just petered out into not reading for quite some time. Picking the book up ever so occasionally to chip away at getting through it.

Finally I got to the point, just like the book, where a last ditch final push (yes that's a constipation metaphor), might just free me of the worst book I have ever read.

To be honest, I can't say I learned anything that I'll retain going forward. I've already forgotten most of the first half of the book while still reading it.

The only real revelations I got, that are likely to stick, is that Elvis didn't die of a drug overdose, and that we, as a species, are simply highly evolved food tubes with arms and legs.

If you're all about the science of the human body, this is probably the book for you. If you're wanting to shed light on some mystery stomach issues you are having that your doctor thinks is probably just indigestion, this is not the book for you... though it may steer you away from over the counter probiotics if you make it to the closing pages.

Purchase Gulp: Travels Around the Gut from Amazon.

*Also known as 'Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal'

Comments

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de...

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart...

James Gunn's Social Media Monkeys Joke Was a Highlight of His Superman Movie For Me

B efore James Gunn's Superman Movie was released there was a whole rumor going around that the movie would feature monkeys on computers trolling Superman's social media, sparking much outrage. #supersh*t. I didn't know this was even a thing until just prior to writing this article. I did a search to see if anyone had posted a clip of the monkeys scene from the movie and got pages of discourse featuring videos and articles prior to the film. Most of it from Gunn detractors (let's say) seeing it as some kind of childish swipe at them... well not them specifically but, you know, those other people who have every right to hate on anything sight unseen. Anyway, I'm not going to give even one such example a link or air because it's kind of sad watching someone devote so much commentary to a throw away gag that is absolutely a nod to James Gunn's Superman trolls. The whole reason this post exists, is to say I loved the joke, because fourteen years ago, and I...

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch...

Skateboarders Who Ever Dreamed of Dropping In on a City Building - Sandro Dias Just Lived Your Dream

Dias's drop-in from one of the lower platforms for practice. Image: © Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull I f you're a skateboarder living in a city you've probably looked at a building that has skate ramp vibes and imagined dropping in on it... well Professional Skateboarder, Sandro Dias didn't just imagine. The Perth Telstra Building as depicted in this fantasy poster print, Forbidden Skate Ramp by Harry Young. If you lived in Perth, Western Australia, any skateboarder who saw the top of the Telstra Building likely had the same thought about the ramp like quarter pipe at the top. Also, back in the day there was a classic skateboarding poster going the rounds that depicted Sydney as a literal skatepark with ramps built up, down, and over numerous buildings. Sandro Dias, who broke the record for the world's tallest drop-in on the 26th September 2025 by dropping in on a mega ramp built on the side of the curved façade of the 22-storey Centro Administrativo Fernando Ferrari (C...

LEIF Tech ESnowboard - It's an Electric RipStik with Training Wheels... and I want one!

The LEIF Tech ESnowboard , whilst it moves a lot like a snowboard, is really more related to a RipStik combined with an Electric Skateboard . Granted the hooks for your feet on the top are very snowboard like, they're not entirely essential (and it's recommended beginners remove them until they're used to general riding around). That said, watching someone fully proficient with riding a LEIF ESnowboard is kind of like watching a snowboarder riding on concrete in the Summertime... and it looks like so much fun.

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog