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BONK -A REVIEW ?
C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.
BONK-The curious coupling of science and sex
Mary Roach, W.W. Norton, N.Y., 2008
This is the funniest book I have read in many years!
In its 303 pages there are at least 350 great laughs.
From artificial testicles for neutered dogs to artificial insemination of pigs, Mary Roach covers the history of
sexual oddities. So-called primitive practices are no more unusual than the illogical, rather depraved physicians and obsessed scientists who have been at the forefront, and foreskin, of preaching, practicing , promoting and otherwise distorting facts and reason. Indeed, reviewing the rather arcane practices considered FACT at various periods well into the 20th century, I am reminded once again of EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS AND THE MADNESS OF CROWDS. My Boy Scout manual as late as 1944 stated in no uncertain terms that masturbation caused epilepsy, blindness and dozens of other afflictions. Surely the Delusions of today perpetuated by the PharmacoMafia will sometime in the future be recognized as insane as ice pick frontal lobotomies and transplanted penises and testicles!
There are many facts, which seem extraordinarily researched, even into inveigling her husband to participate in sex with her in an MRI. And did you know that a pig produces 80 times as much semen as a man?
The international and historical description of sexual oddities is indeed astounding. Of some interest is the rather extensive discussion of the distance of the clitoris from the vaginal opening-certainly not taught in medical school. Clitoral stimulation clearly deserves considerable attention. Although she discusses the vast array of ED-erectile dysfunction- approaches, the only apparent shortcoming, if you will pardon the pun, is her failure to discuss the most common male sexual frustration, size of the penis. Surely that is as important as the distance of the clitoris from the vagina? Dickenson and Kinsey, the most prominent of the early sex investigators, appear to me to have spent as much time on penis size as they did on the many other factors of sexology which Mary Roach does cover. Nevertheless, this is a terrific book for stimulating beta endorphins with cover to cover laughter! Interestingly, Bonk has been around for decades with its earlier meaning of “hitting the wall”-total fatigue. You may indeed be almost fatigued -but invigorated from the laughter provided in her book.
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