The Wacky World Behind the "Bonk"

We had an entertaining and eye-opening show this week, thanks to our guest, best-selling author Mary Roach, who walked us through what she learned writing her new book, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.


Some of the highlights:

As we've discussed before on Sex Files, only a small percentage of women are able to climax during sex. Mary backed this up by saying that according to her sex research, she found only 20% to 30% of women are capable of it. And there may be an interesting reason why: Thanks to research done by Princess Marie Bonaparte (great grand-niece to Napolean), the distance between the clitoris and the vaginal opening for most women is about 1 inch.

Research found that women who measure shorter than 1 inch from the clitoris to the vaginal opening are the ones more likely to climax during orgasm. This is most likely because they are receiving more clitoral stimulation during sex, by virtue of their lucky anatomy. Marie is said to have tried to move hers closer during surgery (yikes) but for the rest of the women out there, we say as always: Stop making that a goal! Enjoy the rest of what you get out of sex, and climax every other way you know how.

Speaking of what's normal and not, Mary explained another sex fact she found: The majority of male penises are actually crooked, not straight. The most common condition? "Like Communists," Mary said, "they lean to the left."

Mary also told some funny stories about participating in a sex study herself (which involved having sex under an ultrasound), and seeking out bizarre sex toys (like the sex toy Anna once got to try, that allows you to view what's going on inside with a microscope). Man, talk about a way to ruin the mood! That probably explains, said Mary, why those toys didn't sell so well...

As always, we enjoyed getting your phone calls and answered as many as we could on the air—most of them involving questions about erectile dysfunction, which Mary's book covers in much more detail than we could. If you liked the show or want to know more, buy yourself a copy of Bonk at any major bookstore, or keep up with Mary Roach on her website: www.maryroach.net

And, if you missed the live show, tune into the replays, and catch us live again next week!

Tune into the Sex Files live on Sirius Maxim Channel 108, Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. Pacific). The show replays at 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. Pacific) and throughout the weekend, and on Mondays.