# Sex before Catastrophe - is it really a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 4, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495 "2014-09-04T16:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/1 "2014-09-04T16:51:44Z")
Inspired by a conversation at work today where a colleague related a story whereby he was on a passenger flight when both pilots became hypoxic (unknown to the passengers at the time but they were acutely aware that the cabin had become unpressurised), he related that a female friend in another seat was looking up and down the cabin during the event and when he asked her later what she was doing she told him that she was trying to decide which male to shag before she died. Now this is something you always hear people say when such hypothetical situations are discussed, I was wondering if this has ever _really_ happened? Has the entwined body of a couple in the process of coitus been discovered post disaster, has someone ever jumped someone else only for the catastrophe to pass safely and there to be a lot of embarrassed glances and muttered coughs afterwards? Or, as I suspect, is it just something people like to say and its never really happened. Yes, I’m aware that sex-drive is increased in the face of danger, but thats usually either in drawn out situations or intercourse taking place after the danger has passed. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/2 "2014-09-04T16:56:45Z")
Well, “ever” is a pretty broad brush. But I’m guessing that it’s exceedingly rare. Particularly since that sex time might be better spent extracting yourself from whatever situation is putting you in danger. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/3 "2014-09-04T17:55:58Z")
There’s this thing called the “fight or flight” response in which > [@Wikipedia](#): > > More specifically, the adrenal medulla produces a hormonal cascade that results in the secretion of catecholamines, especially norepinephrine and epinephrine.[4] Amit Sood, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine discusses the classic fight or flight response and states that estrogen and testosterone are also hormones that affect how we react to stress, as are the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.[5] I took a psychopharmacology course in college and this response was studied (in the context of brain physiology so that we could then understand what various drugs do in the brain). My professor said it should really be called “fight, flight, or fuck” because the same rush of chemicals that either makes you want to instinctively fight or flee might also make you instinctively want to get it on. It’s an evolutionary response tht humans have developed that helps us adapt to and/or overcome danger. More on this [here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response) ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/4 "2014-09-04T17:57:41Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Well, “ever” is a pretty broad brush. But I’m guessing that it’s exceedingly rare. Particularly since that sex time might be better spent extracting yourself from whatever situation is putting you in danger. I was thinking something similar. How many types of catastrophes are there where people have enough time to consider and then engage in intercourse but where the individuals, despite all human instinct to survive, have completely given up on the idea of trying anything to save themselves? Desperation to live would usually rule the day, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/5 "2014-09-04T18:22:50Z")
In a long drawn out situation (i.e., castle under relentless siege,) I think people might want to have sex if death or some fate is inevitable. In the face of impending plane crash? I think everyone would be terrified and sex would be the last thing on their minds. It’s a metal tube traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/6 "2014-09-04T18:39:57Z")
Have you read the poem ‘at lunchtime’ by Roger Mcgough? Not factual but a nice twist at the end. > **[At Lunchtime by Roger McGough (Charmaine's)](http://acr322.blogspot.com/2011/03/at-lunchtime-by-roger-mcgough.html?m=1)** > > AT LUNCHTIME by Roger McGough     When the bus stopped suddenly to avoid damaging a mother and child in the road, the ... ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/7 "2014-09-04T19:13:39Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Well, “ever” is a pretty broad brush. But I’m guessing that it’s exceedingly rare. Particularly since that sex time might be better spent extracting yourself from whatever situation is putting you in danger. Agreed, but I’m wondering if there are any actual verifiable examples of it happening? > [@Dogzilla](#): > > There’s this thing called the “fight or flight” response in which I’m aware of the fight or flight response and as I stated in the OP that danger can be arousing, but that doesn’t answer the question, if anyone actually _has_ grabbed the nearest person of appropriate gender and went out with a bang so to speak. > [@Asimovian](#): > > I was thinking something similar. How many types of catastrophes are there where people have enough time to consider and then engage in intercourse but where the individuals, despite all human instinct to survive, have completely given up on the idea of trying anything to save themselves? Desperation to live would usually rule the day, wouldn’t it? > [@Velocity](#): > > In the face of impending plane crash? I think everyone would be terrified and sex would be the last thing on their minds. It’s a metal tube traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. Yep, yet its something people commonly say when presented with these scenarios, just wondering if its actually occurred! > [@JacobSwan](#): > > Have you read the poem ‘at lunchtime’ by Roger Mcgough? Not factual but a nice twist at the end. > [ACR322: At Lunchtime by Roger McGough (Charmaine's)](http://acr322.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/at-lunchtime-by-roger-mcgough.html?m=1) Not yet, but I will, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/8 "2014-09-04T19:35:48Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > In a long drawn out situation (i.e., castle under relentless siege,) I think people might want to have sex if death or some fate is inevitable. Probably more likely just to pass the time. Sieges can take a while. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/9 "2014-09-04T19:42:35Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > My professor said it should really be called "fight, flight, or fuck"url] Ha. We were taught it was “fight, flight, feed, fuck.” The four basic instincts. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/10 "2014-09-04T21:08:48Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Ha. We were taught it was “fight, flight, feed, fuck.” The four basic instincts. No way, it’s the four F’s: fighting, fleeing, feeding, and reproduction. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/11 "2014-09-04T21:28:14Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Agreed, but I’m wondering if there are any actual verifiable examples of it happening? > … > > Yep, yet its something people commonly say when presented with these scenarios, just wondering if its actually occurred! I’m wondering too. Maybe the people involved were too embarrassed to share their stories, but I’d think bystanders would convey what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/12 "2014-09-04T21:47:52Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > No way, it’s the four F’s: fighting, fleeing, feeding, and reproduction. Yes. That is in fact what the professor said in class. And everyone snickered. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/13 "2014-09-04T22:21:25Z")
well… pregnancy CAN be a catastrophe ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/14 "2014-09-05T19:56:42Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Agreed, but I’m wondering if there are any actual verifiable examples of it happening? Actually, there are. The city of Pompeii is a great example. There was some warning, but not nearly enough for people to reach safety. People were literally frozen in time the instant the super hot ash hit them. Archeologists have documented finding over 1,000 people cooked to death mid-coitus, representing 67 of the 69 commonly known sexual positions. [sub] The above is a lie made up from whole cloth. No such discoveries were ever made, but **DH** seemed so earnest in his search that I thought I would provide a fauxcite[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/15 "2014-09-06T14:29:44Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > [sub] The above is a lie made up from whole cloth. No such discoveries were ever made, but **DH** seemed so earnest in his search that I thought I would provide a fauxcite[/sub] There may not be any rules against it but that was a pretty jerkish thing to do. And yet despite your mocking and this being such a common assertion there doesn’t seem to be an actual examples of it actually occurring, known ones anyway. Curious. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/16 "2014-09-06T15:26:00Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Archeologists have documented finding over 1,000 people cooked to death mid-coitus, representing **67 of the 69** commonly known sexual positions. I’m assuming that one of the positions not represented was “Facing Bloomingdale’s”. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/17 "2014-09-06T17:11:23Z")
the asteroid will be coming about 25000 miles away. being the cautious person that i am, i will be humping fr the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/18 "2014-09-06T17:18:56Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > No way, it’s the four F’s: fighting, fleeing, feeding, and reproduction. I’ve always heard that the 4 Fs were: Find 'em, Feel 'em, Fuck 'em, Forget 'em. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/19 "2014-09-08T14:24:39Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > There may not be any rules against it but that was a pretty jerkish thing to do. > > And yet despite your mocking and this being such a common assertion there doesn’t seem to be an actual examples of it actually occurring, known ones anyway. Curious. I’m sorry if you took the post as mocking you, it wasn’t intended to be. It was simply a joke. It is a common meme, but I know of no “proof” that it has ever happened and doubt that you will find any. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495/20 "2014-09-08T15:13:10Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Probably more likely just to pass the time. Sieges can take a while. And they didn’t have cable or internet porn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-catastrophe-is-it-really-a-thing/697495.md?page=2)