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A.J. Jacobs Quotes

The strange fact that out of millions of people in the world, your mother and father met and decided to get married to each other. And out of the millions of sperm, that the one with your genes was th...

A.J. Jacobs

The strange fact that out of millions of people in the world, your mother and father met and decided to get married to each other. And out of the millions of sperm, that the one with your genes was th...

Tags: creation, egg, father, genes, giving birth, marriage, millions, mother, pregnant, sperm

Each cherry took about three seconds to eat. Three seconds to eat, but at least five years in the making. It seemed unfair to the hard-working cherry tree. The least I could do was to devote my attent...

A.J. Jacobs

Each cherry took about three seconds to eat. Three seconds to eat, but at least five years in the making. It seemed unfair to the hard-working cherry tree. The least I could do was to devote my attent...

Tags: attention, cherries, cherry tree, page 172, paradox, religion, sacred, wisdom

About Author
Arnold Stephen Jacobs Jr., commonly called A.J. Jacobs (born March 20, 1968) is an American journalist, author, and lecturer best known for writing about his lifestyle experiments. He is an editor at large for Esquire and has worked for the Antioch Daily Ledger and Entertainment Weekly.

I like uncovering the cultural prejudices I didn't even know.

A.J. Jacobs

I like uncovering the cultural prejudices I didn't even know.

Tags: biases, conventional wisdom, education, heritage, parenting

I found myself speaking more slowly (in an attempt to obey the Bible in speech), as if I was speaking French instead of English.

A.J. Jacobs

I found myself speaking more slowly (in an attempt to obey the Bible in speech), as if I was speaking French instead of English.

Tags: contemplation, discipleship

Plus, in one of his e-mails, the guy said he didn't like pancakes. What kind of asshole doesn't like pancakes?

A.J. Jacobs

Plus, in one of his e-mails, the guy said he didn't like pancakes. What kind of asshole doesn't like pancakes?

First impressions are like South American dictators: overly powerful and unreliable.

A.J. Jacobs

First impressions are like South American dictators: overly powerful and unreliable.

I have to say, passive aggression gets a bad rap these days. It may not be appropriate in all occasions, but it's a lot better than aggressive aggression.

A.J. Jacobs

I have to say, passive aggression gets a bad rap these days. It may not be appropriate in all occasions, but it's a lot better than aggressive aggression.

Etruscans sometimes wrote boustrophedon style, in which the direction of writing alternates with each line—right-to-left, then left-to-right. Brilliant! The eye doesn’t waste time trekking back to the...

A.J. Jacobs

Etruscans sometimes wrote boustrophedon style, in which the direction of writing alternates with each line—right-to-left, then left-to-right. Brilliant! The eye doesn’t waste time trekking back to the...

Studies show that the more you pay attention to your body’s statistics, the greater the chance you’ll adopt a healthy lifestyle. This idea underpins the Quantified Self movement, in which adherents tr...

A.J. Jacobs

Studies show that the more you pay attention to your body’s statistics, the greater the chance you’ll adopt a healthy lifestyle. This idea underpins the Quantified Self movement, in which adherents tr...

I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world.

A.J. Jacobs

I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world.

I know we’re missing out on some potential Abe Lincolns because they’d look gawky and gangly on TV.

A.J. Jacobs

I know we’re missing out on some potential Abe Lincolns because they’d look gawky and gangly on TV.

Leonardo Pisano, aka Fibonacci: Fibonacci was a 13th-century Italian mathematician who invented the Fibonacci series, which goes like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. Each of the numbers is the su...

A.J. Jacobs

Leonardo Pisano, aka Fibonacci: Fibonacci was a 13th-century Italian mathematician who invented the Fibonacci series, which goes like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. Each of the numbers is the su...

Think of negative speech as verbal pollution. And that's what I've been doing: visualizing insults and gossip as a dark cloud, maybe one with some sulfur dioxide. Once you've belched it out, you can't...

A.J. Jacobs

Think of negative speech as verbal pollution. And that's what I've been doing: visualizing insults and gossip as a dark cloud, maybe one with some sulfur dioxide. Once you've belched it out, you can't...

Tags: speech, thoughts

So, if weight loss is your goal, and you have impressive self-control, raw food is something to consider.

A.J. Jacobs

So, if weight loss is your goal, and you have impressive self-control, raw food is something to consider.

The MRI has a repertoire of noises that resemble, in no particular order: a game-show buzzer for a wrong answer, urgent knocking, a modem from 1992, a grizzly-bear growl, and a man with a raspy voice...

A.J. Jacobs

The MRI has a repertoire of noises that resemble, in no particular order: a game-show buzzer for a wrong answer, urgent knocking, a modem from 1992, a grizzly-bear growl, and a man with a raspy voice...

The dehydrator blows warm air on your food for hours, sometimes days. It reminds me of the temperature and intensity of dog's breath. So imagine a German shepherd exhaling on your fruit for a weekend.

A.J. Jacobs

The dehydrator blows warm air on your food for hours, sometimes days. It reminds me of the temperature and intensity of dog's breath. So imagine a German shepherd exhaling on your fruit for a weekend.

The year showed me beyond a doubt that everyone practices cafeteria religion... But the important lesson was this: there's nothing wrong with choosing. Cafeterias aren't bad per se... the key is in ch...

A.J. Jacobs

The year showed me beyond a doubt that everyone practices cafeteria religion... But the important lesson was this: there's nothing wrong with choosing. Cafeterias aren't bad per se... the key is in ch...

Tags: choice, religion

The literal Greek translation is school for naked exercise. Which made toweling off the stationary bike even more important.

A.J. Jacobs

The literal Greek translation is school for naked exercise. Which made toweling off the stationary bike even more important.

Year hasn’t been observed since the time of the Temple (The Second Jewish Book of Why, p. 262). The Sabbath year is still observed in some form, but only in Israel (ibid., p. 320). DAY 44 I first lear...

A.J. Jacobs

Year hasn’t been observed since the time of the Temple (The Second Jewish Book of Why, p. 262). The Sabbath year is still observed in some form, but only in Israel (ibid., p. 320). DAY 44 I first lear...

Like God and Duane Reade drugstores, toxins are everywhere.

A.J. Jacobs

Like God and Duane Reade drugstores, toxins are everywhere.