I just finished reading Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach. A 336 page reportage on the science of sex, Bonk is a quick and easy read, save for the handfuls of pages here and there that read more like an abridged version of a first year medical textbook. Roach did her research, literally. Not only did she dig up some of the first textbooks and manuals written on reproduction and sexual health, Roach also volunteered herself (and her husband!) for medical studies so as to see first hand how certain machines and stimuli work their magic (for example, ultra sound machines that image blood flow to the vagina or monitors that measure plus and heart rate during intercourse to determine the moment of orgasm). About half the book was dedicated to the penis and how it works (or, in some cases, doesn’t) and the other half to the vagina. Roach divulges some fun and not so fun facts about anatomy (human and otherwise). For example, did you know that a panda’s penis is about the size of an adult thumb when erect?
Bonk did more than just make me think more critically about sex. While reading, I paid a little more attention to what others were reading around me. (I’ll admit I got a few stares, especially from middle aged men on the A train in Queens. Okay, so maybe I squealed a few times, sat with my mouth agape from shock, and wrinkled my brows at some of the more gory surgical stuff.) So, what are New Yorkers reading? On what trains do people read the most? Can that even be charted? Let’s get some statisticss here! Check out this TNYT article on New Yorker’s top picks for subway reading. This other article gives a nice snapshot of subway readers but really doesn’t answer my more pressing questions.
1 day ago