# The Hot Tub Probability Contraception **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2013, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397 "2013-05-03T08:26:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monkeytail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@monkeytail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeytail)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/1 "2013-05-03T08:26:14Z")
Hi there, Please help me solve this problem. (And do pardon the nature of its content. It is sexually related.) If I were to release my sperms in an average sized bath tub filled with warm water and my girlfriend were to be at the other end of the tub (we’re both naked of course), what are the chances of her getting pregnant? Take into account, the mildly alkaline soapy water, temperature (approximately 107 F / 42 C) and the increased distance my sperms to have to cross to finally reach her and fertilize her. So can hot tub sex really be the most pleasureful way of bathing without having to use a contraceptive and still avoid pregnancy? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/2 "2013-05-03T09:12:15Z")
Worst Big Bang Theory episode ever. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/3 "2013-05-03T09:27:56Z")
Not an answer to your question, but I thought I would just point out that you’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/4 "2013-05-03T09:40:56Z")
> [@monkeytail](#): > > Hi there, > … > If I were to release my sperms in an average sized bath tub filled with warm water and my girlfriend were to be at the other end of the tub … > > So can hot tub sex really be the most pleasureful way of bathing without having to use a contraceptive and still avoid pregnancy? 😕 That is pleasurable sex? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/5 "2013-05-03T10:19:03Z")
Without doing the precise math or science I can tell you that the answer is “exceedingly small”. Too high a temperature kills sperm. The wrong pH kills sperm. Having to swim across a freaking hottub, unless there a water jet shooting a stream of water straight from you to her hoohah, will kill sperm. Heck, even just having sex the normal way is hardly a guarantee of pregnancy. Is there a non-zero chance of pregnancy? Probably. But while you’re buying contraceptives, you might also want to pick up a lottery ticket because man, those are some long odds. Also, unless you’re a fish, releasing your sperm into the water to find its way to your partner’s eggs is a very, very, very loose definition of “sex”. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/6 "2013-05-03T11:20:56Z")
How do you release sperm at the opposite side of the hot tub from your girlfriend and call it sex? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/7 "2013-05-03T11:24:16Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > How do you release sperm at the opposite side of the hot tub from your girlfriend and call it sex? Foot fetish. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/8 "2013-05-03T13:13:11Z")
Isn’t this basically how fish reproduce? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/9 "2013-05-03T13:15:04Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > Worst Big Bang Theory episode ever. I’d watch it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/10 "2013-05-03T13:19:42Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’d watch it. 😉 Eh. Zach already told that story, right before the karaoke singing and LeVar Burton showing up ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/11 "2013-05-03T13:34:46Z")
On the internet no one knows you are a fish. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/12 "2013-05-03T16:09:54Z")
It won’t happen. Getting pregnant is a lot more biologically complicated than you think. Have fun. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/13 "2013-05-03T16:52:23Z")
My guess (and it’s just a guess), is that even before we get into the biology, temperature and chemical aspects, the probability of getting pregnant would be significantly lessened due to social constraints. Perhaps we need a poll. If someone in a hot tub starts jacking off, do you A. Leave B. Stay ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/14 "2013-05-03T16:55:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Isn’t this basically how fish reproduce? uh - not in a hot tub they don’t - And if you want to be accurate about it - the male fish releases the sperm at/near/ontop of the eggs that the female laid - so - its not from accross the lake and its not in 100+ degree water. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/15 "2013-05-03T17:01:48Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > My guess (and it’s just a guess), is that even before we get into the biology, temperature and chemical aspects, the probability of getting pregnant would be significantly lessened due to social constraints. Perhaps we need a poll. > > If someone in a hot tub starts jacking off, do you > A. Leave > B. Stay Is it MY hot tub? Because, if it is, there should be a third choice. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/16 "2013-05-03T17:13:15Z")
It’ll reduce your chances, and not just immediately. From [health.com](http://health.com): \*“Wet heat” isn’t good for the testes, and, according to a study published in 2007, even 30 minutes in a Jacuzzi or hot tub can temporarily decrease sperm production. However, this study also showed that the negative effects of wet heat on sperm may be reversible. Dr. Shin counters that wet heat exposure can impact a man’s sperm for a surprisingly long time. Because sperm takes so long to mature, “any interventions [to reduce exposure] will usually take at least three, if not six to nine, months to show any benefit,” he says.\* ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/17 "2013-05-03T17:23:43Z")
Yet another reason for me to avoid Jacuzzis. Semen in the intake/jets. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/18 "2013-05-03T17:33:22Z")
Didn’t the Fonz address this question in that episode where he was a substitute teacher and the students tricked him into doing sex ed? A girl in the class asked if she could get pregnant swimming with a guy? ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/19 "2013-05-03T17:43:56Z")
IIRC I read of a girl getting pregnant using a bath tub after her brother. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397/20 "2013-05-03T17:49:52Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > IIRC I read of a girl getting pregnant using a bath tub after her brother. I remember this too. Seems like no one believed her than either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hot-tub-probability-contraception/657397.md?page=2)