The Science of Sex: Mary Roach
Finally: a book unafraid to tell all about... er, rat sex
Text Publishing $34.95
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Mary Roach doesn't blush easily. In her new book, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science, she gets down and dirty to rummage through the history of sexual research. Her investigation into carnal knowledge takes her from sex-toy R&D labs to a Danish pig-farm where sows are stimulated to orgasm to boost fertility rates. In the spirit of sexual enlightenment, Time Out presents a handful of Roach's fascinating facts. If any of the following are already familiar, your deviancy knows no bounds...
An Egyptian doctor investigated the effects of polyester on sexual activity by dressing 75 lab rats in miniature pairs of trousers. Over the course of a year, the rats in polyester strides had sex significantly less often than those clad in slacks made from cotton or wool.
Neurologists at a Taiwanese Hospital conducted tests on a woman capable of reaching orgasm by brushing her teeth. Unfortunately the woman wasn't thrilled by this rare talent and believed she was demonically possessed. She eventually ditched her toothbrush altogether and switched to mouthwash instead.
In 1922, the physician of San Quentin jail conducted 1,000 testicular grafts in which a single gonad from freshly executed inmates and various animals (goats, rams, boars and deer) was removed and grafted onto the testicles of ageing inmates. The recipients reported a variety of health benefits.
In San Francisco, cock-ring emergencies are so common they have their own shorthand ("C-Ring") on the Fire Department teletype. The department's Heavy Rescue Squad has modified a small circular saw especially for this purpose and occasionally stages practice drills.
Men are significantly better equipped to concentrate on the job in hand. Legendary sex researcher Alfred Kinsey reported that "Cheese crumbs spread in front of a copulating pair of rats may distract the female but not the male."
Read an extract from Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science