Real Science: Know Your Tools!

Pretty wonderful article over at Scientific American I thought I better bring your attention to. SA writer Jesse Bering breaks down the recent findings by evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup, explaining why, exactly, the human schlong is as strange-looking and shaped the way it is. (Spoiler: To make babies!) It’s a longer piece, but it’s worth reading if only because then you can use the phrase “semen displacement theory” in your casual conversations:

This “semen displacement theory” is the most intriguing part of Gallup’s story. We may prefer to regard our species as being blissfully monogamous, but the truth is that, historically, at least some degree of fooling around has been our modus operandi for at least as long we’ve been on two legs. Since sperm cells can survive in a woman’s cervical mucus for up to several days, this means that if she has more than one male sexual partner over this period of time, say within 48 hours, then the sperm of these two men are competing for reproductive access to her ovum.

See? Pretty hot stuff. So read it, digest the information, feel smarter, and show off your new found knowledge at the next pub crawl. If things go right, you’ll be able to try out the “semen displacement theory” on your own, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

(I mean sexual intercourse!)