Hello, this is Mark.

Oh, hi, Mark. How are you? This is Wendy.

Hi, Wendy. How are you?

Mark Jorgensen is from southern Utah, which he tells us is a beautiful place.

I look out my window, I see red cliffs and white cliffs, and it's just actually quite spectacular.

Back in January, Mark and his wife, Jerry, decided to leave their beautiful cliffs and go on a trip.

So they took a 15-hour flight to Japan and headed to the harbor where they saw their new home for the next couple of weeks, a cruise ship.

You know, the size of it is just, they're just huge.

I mean, to think that this thing actually floats, it's just amazing.

18 decks, four pools, and all you can eat buffets. Mark and his wife, Jerry, climbed aboard,

and from there, they were off on a two-week adventure across parts of Asia.

My favorite stops were Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hong Kong is just an amazing city and

it's just so vibrant and so much going on. And this cruise ship? Maybe you've heard of it.

Well, it's called the Diamond Princess. Yeah, that Diamond Princess. Unbeknownst to Mark,

he was on board what would become an infamous cruise ship, a major hot spot for the coronavirus.

The Diamond Princess ended up becoming this accidental experiment.

And Mark, an accidental guinea pig.

His experience would give scientists some crucial information on how this virus can spread,

silently.

By the way, you're listening to Science Verses, and I'm your host, Wendy Zuckerman.

But back to Mark.

In the early days of that cruise, Mark never thought this virus would become something he'd have to worry about.

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