Tunnel of Love, Indeed

April 14, 2003 8:20 PM

Sex in an MRI scanner shows that in the missionary position, the penis looks like a boomerang.
posted by agregoli (19 comments total)

Here are some of the MRIs . Visual aids, and all that.
posted by iconomy at 8:33 PM on April 14, 2003

Sex-rays. (Probably nsfw.)
posted by homunculus at 8:45 PM on April 14, 2003

So, if yours points South originally, it gets straightened out?

sweet.
posted by bradth27 at 8:45 PM on April 14, 2003

wow. lookit all the fillings, homonculus.
posted by crunchland at 8:54 PM on April 14, 2003

We all giggled about this around a year ago, here.
posted by notme at 8:57 PM on April 14, 2003

Wow. They've found a way to make sex boring.
posted by spilon at 8:58 PM on April 14, 2003

Just before looking at iconomy's link:

Me: Where's the PICTURES?
GF: So lame!

Just after looking at iconomy's link:

Me: WTF? Where's the woman?
GF: Ew! Ew! Ew!

T H A N K S    D O O D !!!
posted by scarabic at 9:20 PM on April 14, 2003

"Scanning of the position of the human genitals during coitus gives a convincing impression of the enormous size of the average penis in erection."

Even scientists exaggerate...
posted by five fresh fish at 9:21 PM on April 14, 2003

I love the text ads on this page.
posted by mrbula at 9:40 PM on April 14, 2003

Me too! I also like the names of some of articles cited at the end of the study iconomy posted, which the study apparently inspired:

Are Men Important? by Izhar Ben-Shlomo.
Lack of Info on Orgasm by Aubrey Pilgrim.
Three responses to "Are Men Important?" by I Z Ben-Zion, Robert Lacy and Erin Pernett.
You Cannot Argue that Men Are Redundant by Charles Bradley.

Scientists are so cute. I hope someone has taken the time to fill poor Aubrey in.

Interestingly, the technologies for this and CatScan.com ("I have no idea how these people got their {x} wedged into their scanners, or why.") were apparently being experimented with around the same time (mid- to late-1999).
posted by onlyconnect at 10:35 PM on April 14, 2003

And the inevitable result was NobScan.com!
posted by homunculus at 10:53 PM on April 14, 2003

There was an entire book on this (MRI pictures taken during sex) that I saw at a bookstore about 7 years ago. The author was, I think, a doctor from Sweden.
posted by shoos at 12:31 AM on April 15, 2003

I wonder if this album cover inspired the MRI sex research.
posted by jonp72 at 12:57 AM on April 15, 2003

This research was the recipient of a (well-deserved!) Ig Nobel prize for Medicine.
posted by John Shaft at 2:41 AM on April 15, 2003

I'm forced to disagree about the Ig Nobel. I havent read all of this material, but it seems to me to be important knowledge.

Why would you consider better understanding the actual mechanics of the reproductive process as somehow lacking in value?
posted by Irontom at 5:53 AM on April 15, 2003

homunculus - Great link!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:47 AM on April 15, 2003

in the missionary position, the penis looks like a boomerang

Come again?
posted by kindall at 7:01 AM on April 15, 2003 [1 favorite]

If I'd known you could do experiments like this I would have paid more attention at school...

An improvised curtain covered the window between the two rooms, so the intercom was the only means of communication.

Because we'd not want the couples involved to think we were somehow aware of what they were doing...

Out of interest, where were the pictures? I saw images from drawings by DiVinci and someone else, but no MRIs. Anyone?
posted by twine42 at 8:02 AM on April 15, 2003

Come again?

That's like a triple entendre. Props.
posted by gsteff at 1:21 PM on April 17, 2003