There’s all abuzz about a new titillating book on the shelves quivering to be discovered. The bestselling author of Stiff and Spook turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. In Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (W. W. Norton), Loaded with research studies and useful cocktail party factoids, Roach shows how and why sexual arousal and orgasm can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

Among the many interesting research point in the book:

One little-known amateur scientist, Princess Marie Bonaparte, the great-grandniece of Napoleon, was determined to explain her own nonexistent relationship between intercourse and orgasm by physically measuring the distance from clitoris to vagina (typically about an inch) in 243 subjects. Interestingly, modern researchers believe, for the moment, this study remains valid and reliable.

Mary Roach traveled far and wide to research her book, sometimes participating in experiments herself, and with her husband. The book contains illustrative details, a few we’ve detailed below, as well as an interview with the author.

Factoid: A Chicago study has shown that men’s colognes actually reduce physical arousal in women.

During the 19th century, many doctors considered masturbation to be not only a moral hazard, but a threat to good health and even a cause of impotence. Inventors responded by patenting a variety of “sanitary appliances,” including this electrical anti-masturbation aide patented in 1903.

Renaissance Man
Leonardo da Vinci thought he had a good handle on the anatomy of intercourse, as shown in this drawing called “The Copulation.” But 20th-century research revealed that he didn’t quite understand the ins and outs. For one thing, the cervix doesn’t interlock with the penis. For another, MRI scans show that the penis is curved during intercourse and looks a bit like a boomerang. And there aren’t two vessels to carry urine and semen separately.

What Does a Woman Want?
Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962), a French psychoanalyst and kin of Napoleon, became fascinated with female sexuality — particularly the role of the long-neglected clitoris. Suffering from what was called frigidity in her time, she had her own clitoris surgically relocated. It didn’t help matters, but she still engaged in plenty of affairs.

Her research into the female genitalia of dozens of women remains useful today. But she’s perhaps best known for a comment her friend Sigmund Freud made to her: “The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my 30 years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?’”
Source: Wired

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