Top 5 Facts on Sexual Positions

The spice of your sex life at least! Studies conducted in both the US and UK show that a single sexual session is more than likely to include multiple sexual acts. Positions such as missionary, cowgirl and doggy-style invariably hover amongst the highest ranking in terms of popularity, but we regularly tickle our fancy with more. In an American survey in 2010, over 40 combinations of sexual activity were listed when adults were asked to detail their most recent experience… And in 2014, in the UK an average of three acts reportedly occur during any one encounter. Traditional intercourse is the most common sexual behaviour in both countries, but alternatives including oral sex and partnered masturbation are trending upwards.

A varied sex life wasn’t always something you could admit to though… Throughout the Middle Ages, in Christian countries at least, anything other than missionary was widely considered a sin! Any of the other four known positions (apparently they only knew five) were seen as unnatural acts, against the accepted order of male-female roles, and could incur up to three years’ penance! Of course, they didn’t call it “missionary position.” According to sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, that term was invented much later by Natives in the South Pacific who were in contact with Catholic missionaries. However, further research suggests that Kinsey misinterpreted some information and inadvertently coined the term himself in 1948.

Most people know the ancient Indian Hindu text to be a soft porn manual of exotic sexual positions. But, actually, only around one fifth of the Kama Sutra is about sexual positions! The rest is a sort of guidebook on how to live a virtuous life and reflects on the nature of love and family. It’s title roughly translates as ‘Desire Rules’ – and those rules reach beyond the bedroom! There’s information on the arts, recipes for potions to make oneself attractive to others, interior decorating, and even ideas on where to bring a date! Though the original didn’t have any illustrations, the parts that are about sex are far from conservative. It prescribes biting and scratching as part of good love-making. It even has instructions on how to seduce another man’s wife!

A group of academically sex-obsessed Dutch scientists set out to collect evidence of the actual anatomical goings on between a couple engaging in sex. (They wanted to see inside of people f*cking.) In 2000, their paper and accompanying MRI video won an Ig Nobel prize for being both funny and thought-provoking. The team had first attempted this experiment in 1991, but were hindered by MRI machines that needed the subjects to stay still for 52 seconds, which is not conducive to sexy times. By 1998, not only did they have a new generation of MRI scanner, but, crucially, they also had Viagra. The images don’t exactly make for great background TV if you’re trying to set the mood, but they are educational. You can also find MRI imaging of a couple kissing, and coitus captured by ultrasound, if that kind of thing does it for you.

Two words that will make any guy wince: broken penis. There are of course no bones in a boner– it’s actually the fibrous layer of tissue underneath the skin of an erect penis that gets fractured... Quickly turning ecstasy into agony! A break is usually the result of incompatible, uncomfortable movement or positioning… There’s a snapping sound followed by heavy bruising, and unsurprisingly it requires immediate medical attention! Sex injuries in general throw up some strange statistics… A third of surveyed adults in America say they suffer some form of sex-related injury every year! These could just be rug burn, or a bruised spanking hand, but one of the most common causes for embarrassing Emergency room visits is when household pets attack mid-coitus! It’s not that Fido’s weirdly jealous, it’s that he thinks that you’re in some kind of danger! And loyalty beats lust every time!


So, what do you think? What’s your favorite… chapter of the kama sutra? For more spicy Top 10s and vanilla Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com!