Quote

My immune system has always been overly welcoming of germs. It's far too polite, the biological equivalent of a southern hostess inviting y'all nice microbes to stay awhile and have some artichoke dip.

A. J. Jacobs

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

A. J. Jacobs
Age: 56
Born: 1968
Born: March 20
Journalist
Writer
New York City
New York
AJ Jacobs
Arnold Steven Jacobs
Jr.
Honey K Balani
Honey K. Balani
A.J. Jacobs
A J Jacobs
Arnold Stephen Jacobs
Jr.
Nice
Equivalent
Microbes
Always
Biological
Welcoming
Polite
Dip
Southern
Overly
Welcome
Germs
Artichoke
Health
Awhile
Artichokes
Stay
Inviting
Hostess
System
Immune
Hostesses

More quotes by A. J. Jacobs

Image
If my former self and my current self met for coffee, they'd get along OK, but they'd both probably walk out of the Starbucks shaking their heads and saying to themselves, “That guy is kinda delusional.”
A. J. Jacobs
Image
The best we can do, to paraphrase Pollan, is to eat whole foods, mostly plants, and not too much.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
After a while, if you're committed, you start to believe in the things in which you're praying. It's just cognitive dissonance. You can't live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I always thought the name of Utah’s major newspaper was some sort of weird misspelling of the word “desert.” But no, Deseret is the “land of the honeybee,” according to the Book of Mormon. I guess I should have figured they would have caught a typo in the masthead after 154 years.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I love it when the Bible gives Emily Post-like tips that are both wise and easy to follow.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I don't believe that prayers actually change God's mind - if there is a God - but I liked praying for people in need. It was like moral weightlifting. I tend to be self-obsessed, and it was nice to get out of my brain once in a while.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
Taking the Bible too literally is a mistake. It should be read as a guidebook of wisdom and insight.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t really explain why.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
This is what the Sabbath should feel like. A pause. Not just a minor pause, but a major pause. Not just lowering the volume, but a muting. As the famous rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel put it, the Sabbath is a sanctuary in time.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
One of the interesting things to me is that God grows throughout the Old Testament. He evolves, sort of matures, and becomes kinder.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
Jealousy is a useless, time-wasting emotion that's eating me alive.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I was what they call 'skinny fat' - a body that resembled a python after swallowing a goat.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
More people die on a per mile basis from drunk walking than from drunk driving.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I’m not a fan of ‘write what you know.’ If you don’t know, find out. I knew nothing about the Bible before I started writing ‘The Year of Living Biblically.’ That was kind of the point – to learn.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I thought religion would eventually wither away and we'd all be worshiping at the altar of science.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I'm addicted to self-improvement. The thing is, there's so damn much about myself to improve.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I'm all for cafeteria religion. I think there's nothing wrong with cafeterias - I've had some great meals at cafeterias. I've also had some horrible meals, so it's important to pick the right things. Take a heaping helping of compassion and mercy, and leave the intolerance on the table.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
I have little shame, no dignity – all in the name of a better cause.
A. J. Jacobs
Image
Probably 90 percent of our life decisions are powered by the twin engines of inertia and laziness.
A. J. Jacobs