Polyester isn’t just a fashion faux pas, it also makes you un-effable, as researcher Mary Roach writes in her new history book Bonk: The Curious Couple of Science and Sex. She has compiled interesting studies from the 19th century up until today, including one from Egypt, which found lab rats in polyester pants had less sex than their cotton-covered counterparts. So while the ’70s were swinging, she actually credits the ’20s flappers for the American sexual revolution. “There were sex manuals at the time that were encouraging women to try being on top,” Roach reminds us. And my how we are now! From Kinsey’s research to Castro’s butt hole, Ms. Roach’s book approaches accounts of sexual experiments with an irreverent, albeit scientific, flair. While she laments that much remains unknown about the physiological ins and outs of sex, Roach took the research into her own, er, hands , nd this book is still sure to teach you a thing or two. [NPR and Amazon]
