Day: November 1, 2009

On natural sex

annejjacobson4 Comments

Not that we’re counting, but bonobos and fruit bats do it, in addition to us.  Whatever was the Creator thinking!?!

A Little Fellatio Goes a Long Way

By Cassandra Brooks
ScienceNOW Daily News
30 October 2009

Oral sex is surprisingly rare in the animal kingdom. Humans do it, of course. As do bonobos, our close relatives. But now researchers have observed the practice for the first time in a non-primate. During intercourse, female short-nosed fruit bats lick the genitals of their partner, a possible ploy to increase copulation time. The discovery suggests there may be a biological advantage to fellatio. 

 

The article mentions three reasons why they perform oral sex:

1.  It has to do with sperm survival.

2.  It means the penis is cleaner, and so presumably the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy is higher.

3.  It’s fun.

I’m not sure the last is supposed to mean it has survival value. 

 

Something for your extra hour (in the US at least)

annejjacobson

For at least some of us, daylight savings just ended.  Those who have  gotten the gift of an extra hour may be wondering what to do.  Here’s an idea:

The London Review of Books has just made its 30th anniversary edition available free online.  And there are some delicious  articles.  A number of them pick up on topics discussed here.  Here are some that might be especially interesting:

In a major essay, Jacqueline Rose investigates the history and practice of ‘honour killing’ in its many contexts – religious, cultural, linguistic.

Hilary Mantel diagnoses nine types of hypochondria.

Troubled by the campaign for the release of Roman Polanski, Jenny Diski recalls being raped as a teenager.

Jeremy Harding looks into what will happen to the detainees when Guantánamo Bay is closed, and the real reasons they were put there in the first place.

Thomas Nagel analyses the idea of the self.