“Animals' taste systems are specialized for the niche they occupy in the environment. That includes us. As hunters and foragers of the dry savannah, our earliest forebears evolved a taste for important but scarce nutrients: salt and high-energy fats and sugars. That, in a nutshell, explains the widespread popularity of junk food.”

American author of popular science and humor

Mary Roach is an American author of popular science and humor. She is known for writing bestselling books that turn science into accessible, often playful nonfiction. 138 quotes on the site. Her books include Stiff, Spook, Bonk, Packing for Mars, Gulp, Grunt, Fuzz, and Replaceable You, all New York Times bestsellers. Her work often explores unusual corners of science, from human cadavers and the afterlife to sex, space, digestion, war, nature, and anatomy.