Byliner Recommends

• The Supersonic Man

  by Mary Roach + Follow

  Outside | August 2010

  Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner plans to jump out of a balloon gondola 23 miles above the earth, breaking the altitude record for skydiving and becoming the first free-falling human to reach the speed of sound. Dangerous? Only if his parachutes fail, he's killed by shock waves, or he starts spinning so fast that his brain snaps loose from its stem.

• Cute Inc.

  by Mary Roach + Follow

  Wired | December 1999

  What can you say about a high-powered exec with an Elmo charm on his cell phone? He gets it.

• Two Men in a Tub

  by Mary Roach + Follow

  Discover | August 1998

  Being an astronaut is glamorous, exciting, and dangerous. It can also be tedious and undignified, particularly if you're preparing to build the International 2 Station.