User:Megans832/sandbox

-In an article written by Mary Roach, we learn that Roach is impassioned by the work she has to do for the novels she writes. More often than not, when Roach ends up on her adventures she contacts the person she wishes to accompany on a research mission via email. She offers to pay her own way and expenses, and even fronts the bill for some of the research trips!

-Although this is a review, the author provides great insight as to WHY Mary Roach's writing style and technique are effective. Roach makes science fun for the everyday guy. Instead of confusing the reader with long words and boring stories, Roach makes science culturally relevant and makes learning new things fun and exciting.

- Mary Roach discusses with Jon Stewart the insane things she learned while working with NASA on her novel "Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void". She includes details about the fun things, like being offered the opportunity to use a space toilet, as well as the boring, like reading through years of mission files in order to find usable material for the novel.

- Mary Roach informs the reader a bit more about her research, as well as her inspiration for writing about the unique topics she does.

Synthesis for Wikipedia Article
Mary Roach's research techniques are very classical in that she sticks to a very classical approach to getting the information she needs to compile an interesting and informative novel. Roach is not opposed to unorthodox methods of collecting the data she needs. For example, in order to author her novel Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Roach actually contacted specialists in the field, seeking their aid in a research study that could benefit the novel. Unfortunately for Roach, grant funding had fallen through and there was no possible way to procure the funds needed to travel for the study. Roach and her husband actually financed the trip themselves in order to collect the data they needed. In addition, Roach has been known to go the extra mile for her work by sifting through hours of mid-space conversation records in order to find interesting stories to present a reader. On the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Roach goes into detail about going through 1969 flight records and discovering a conversation between Houston and one of the astronauts when he remarks that an "escapee", or a piece of fecal matter that did not make it into the toilet, had just floated right past him on the ship. From there, Roach informs Stewart and the audience that she actually got to test some of the technology that was used during the pace missions as part of her investigation, but actually refused to use the space toilet. Roach's techniques to applying this technology into her own life is very interesting, as it gives the reader a better sense that Roach understands and is impassioned about the equipment she discusses. This is only further delivered by the reviews of her work, which indicate that Roach makes certain, farfetched topics accessible to the everyday reader.