# Things you never knew about the other sex until recently **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693 "2009-03-25T02:27:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/81 "2009-03-26T04:09:04Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I only learned a few months ago that when men sit down they are not in constant danger of sitting on their testicles. I was imagining them constantly worried about hurting themselves when they sat down. Some men do have that problem. My partner has a lot more down there than most guys, and has to wear extra support. From the outside it looks like he’s wearing boxers, but there’s a pouch inside that just holds his balls. And when he’s on the toilet, he has to place everything on the seat in front, or it all gets wet (and cold). ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/82 "2009-03-26T04:10:52Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I would beg to differ. It’s not a clear and present danger, but it does happen. To me, at least. Also, and just to make every guy in the room wince in unison : zippers and scrotums. Worse than that – Zippers and Foreskin. Oh god, the pain. ☹ ETA: Yeah, once and a while I sit down and let out a yelp. It doesn’t happen often, but once and a while… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/83 "2009-03-26T04:19:06Z")
I remember the first time we had any kind of sex-ed. It was in the 6th grade, and they didn’t separate the boys from the girls (that would start in 7th grade). They brought in a special teacher to tell us about the birds and bees. This was in the late 50s, and none of us knew anything at that point. So the teacher told us all about the sperm and the egg, and what happened when they met, and how babies were born. I am proud to say that I was the kid who raised my hand and asked exactly how the sperm got from the man’s penis to the woman’s vagina. The teacher wasn’t prepared to go into that much detail, but was saved by one of the girls who apparently figured it out . . . and screamed . . . and fainted. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/84 "2009-03-26T04:20:12Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > That’s exactly what I thought! You have to go through several per day? That sucks! What about pads – can one soak up all the blood from a day? Good golly, no. You really don’t want to wear the same pad all day long, that would be…unfresh, shall we say. Every 4-6 hours, just about, except on the heaviest day when, depending on how your individual period works, 2-3 hours is probably good. Edit: on your lighter days, you _could_ wear the same pad all day…it’s just not all that great an idea. ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/85 "2009-03-26T04:34:27Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > It’s amazing how many women think this. Not too long ago, I educated my cousin who is in her 50s. She never wondered how she was able to pee while wearing a tampon. Yep. I’ve more than once had to explain to a female friend how they work when it comes to very woman specific stuff. I find it sad. How do you not know at least the basics of how your own body works?! ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/86 "2009-03-26T04:53:07Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Er… how? The hymen actually has a whole in it (the better to let the menstrual blood out!) and generally if you use a slim or “junior” size tampon, the whole is big enough to accomodate a tampon. The size of the hymen opening varies in women, too, so some women/girls can use tampons without any discomfort from the get go. Plus, it’s a pretty thin membrane to begin with, and it’s durability, shall we say, also varies from woman to woman. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/87 "2009-03-26T05:15:34Z")
> [@leander](#): > > Did you know that one of our balls hangs lower than the other, and for good reason? Do you know why they “hang” at all? > [@Kobal2](#): > > Hell, _I’m_ a guy and I don’t know why one ball is lower than the other. > [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > And the “good reason” is… Because many people sleep on one side or the other. A third of your life in one gravitational position can have a big influence. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/88 "2009-03-26T06:30:45Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Good golly, no. You really don’t want to wear the same pad all day long, that would be…unfresh, shall we say. Every 4-6 hours, just about, except on the heaviest day when, depending on how your individual period works, 2-3 hours is probably good. > > Edit: on your lighter days, you _could_ wear the same pad all day…it’s just not all that great an idea. Oh, jesus. I thought it was like having to take a crap… you feel it coming, it’s getting closer, it’s playing peekaboo, oh god, oh god… then plop all at once. And you’re good for the next day or so. Are periods different? Is it more like Mr. Coffee? Malfunctioning garden hose? What? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/89 "2009-03-26T07:55:04Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Well, yes, sort of. The urethra’s exit, in women, is usually sort of just inside the entrance of the vagina, under the clit. But it is its own hole. And you would be amazed at the number of women who think they pee right out of their vaginas. Okay, so I was amazed - I figured they would have been taught basic anatomy at some point. Sex ed? What are they teaching girls in there? Check your basic anatomy again. It’s not “just inside the entrance of the vagina”, it’s above the vaginal opening… between the vagina and the clitoris. They are completely separate ducts. The side view [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagina) illustrates this well. Also look at the “schematic vulva anatomy” diagram below. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/90 "2009-03-26T08:13:26Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Oh, jesus. I thought it was like having to take a crap… you feel it coming, it’s getting closer, it’s playing peekaboo, oh god, oh god… then plop all at once. And you’re good for the next day or so. > > Are periods different? Is it more like Mr. Coffee? Malfunctioning garden hose? What? Like Mr. Coffee. But with moments of garden hose (Thanks, cramps!) The flow can be lighter during sleep or while lying down because the opening isn’t pointing down. Someone want to tell him about “chunky days” and blow his damn mind? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/91 "2009-03-26T08:29:06Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Oh, jesus. I thought it was like having to take a crap… you feel it coming, it’s getting closer, it’s playing peekaboo, oh god, oh god… then plop all at once. And you’re good for the next day or so. > > Are periods different? Is it more like Mr. Coffee? Malfunctioning garden hose? What? Did you really think that or are you joking? :dubious: Anyway, menstrual flow is a gradual flow of fluid over an average of 3-5. Wiki says an average menstrual period releases about 35 milliliters of fluid. This is about 5 teaspoons over about 3-5 days. You can get a good illustration of this by using a [menstrual cup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup) which is a flexible silicone cup that goes into the vagina and collects menstrual fluid instead of absorbing it like pads or tampons. A menstrual cup is about the size of a small shot glass, and I usually remove mine once or twice a day and it’s only about 1/4 full. So as you can see, not much fluid is released. Menstrual cups are awesome, by the way!! After reading **Juniper200’s** chunky comment: oh yeah, sometimes chunky bits (blood clot-looking things) come out too. This is just bits of the uterine lining being expelled. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/92 "2009-03-26T08:35:06Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Oh, jesus. I thought it was like having to take a crap… you feel it coming, it’s getting closer, it’s playing peekaboo, oh god, oh god… then plop all at once. And you’re good for the next day or so. > > Are periods different? Is it more like Mr. Coffee? Malfunctioning garden hose? What? _pats **Reply’s** head_ Boys are so cute when they’re naive. It ranges from Mr Coffee/dripping tap to leaky garden hose, with (for many, probably most women) moments of ploppiness. It varies a lot from woman to woman, but for most women the first one to three days are heaviest and most ploppy, and then the flow gradually gets lighter and lighter until stopping. I’ve met a surprising number of men who have assumed that a tampon functions more like a bathtub stopper than a rolled-up paper towel. Strangely enough these tend to be the same guys that get very uncomfortable at the mention of something like the Keeper, which _does_ work on the bathtub stopper principle, more or less. Oh yeah, another point, since tampons and hymens have been mentioned - **niblet\_head** alluded to it, but let’s get it out in the open. Not all women who are still virgins, still have hymens. These can break during all sorts of activity, from little girls exploring their “holes” with their fingers, to boringly non-sexual things like bike riding. And hymens don’t necessarily bleed noticeably when they break, either. So if she told you she was a virgin, well, she might have been lying - but a lack of blood isn’t conclusive proof. ---
**Author:** ![Deereman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Deereman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deereman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/93 "2009-03-26T09:06:14Z")
Well, speaking of periods, and sex ed and such… I must say first that I know that this doesn’t actually work very well for avoiding pregnancy. I’ve always wondered how the “rhythm method” of birth control is supposed to work. If I’m right…A woman’s “period” starts on the first day of blood flow, then it starts all over again 28 days, or roughly a month later. What time period is a woman the most fertile? And when is she supposedly the least fertile (for so called safe sex)? I never really understood the timing of it all. ---
**Author:** ![NBYodo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9a28c/32.png) [@NBYodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NBYodo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/94 "2009-03-26T09:29:35Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Even before sex ed. When I was . . . maybe 9 or 10, my elementary school started with the “hygiene” stuff, where they separated the boys from the girls and each group got taught some stuff. For the girls, it was about menstruation (sponsored, IIRC, Kotex), complete with a basic anatomy lesson that depicted all the orifices, the bladder, uterus, cervix, and lower bowel. That’s where I learned about the location of my urethra compared to other structures, and how menstruation worked (lining building up, egg released, lining sheds). I can barely remember not knowing this stuff. > > This would have been around 1962 - 1963, so of course they did NOT identify the clitoris - I didn’t find out about that particular structure until I was 8 months pregnant and found an obstetrical textbook. It was all pretty much focused on what we needed to know to handle menstruation and was not really sex education. > > So, thanks to Kotex, I was all up on female reproductive anatomy (well, except for the fun stuff) by the time I was 12 years old. Do they not do this in schools nowadays? I didn’t have sex education in high school, so this stuff in elementary school was all the sex ed I got. Until the OB textbook, that is. > > So, can one of you guys tell me what the boys learned while we girls were learning about how to position a sanitary napkin? Canada, mid-80’s. The girls had sex-ed in about grade 4. We got to outside and have extra recess. Woohoo! 😃 At some point we all had common sex-ed (maybe grade 6). All a bit blurry, but it was basic anatomy + stuff. I figured enough of it out myself (about girls) later on that I didn’t need to know what I’d had or hadn’t learnt in school… NB ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/95 "2009-03-26T09:42:10Z")
> [@Deereman](#): > > I’ve always wondered how the “rhythm method” of birth control is supposed to work. > > If I’m right…A woman’s “period” starts on the first day of blood flow, then it starts all over again 28 days, or roughly a month later. > > What time period is a woman the most fertile? And when is she supposedly the least fertile (for so called safe sex)? A woman is really only fertile for a short period each month, roughly a 24-hour day after ovulation. After that, if the egg isn’t fertilized, it starts to die. On the other hand, sperm can live for as much as five days once they’re safely inside a woman’s body. So, adding up, there’s about six days during each cycle when sex can potentially result in pregnancy, from starting five days before ovulation and ending one day after. The length of a woman’s period can vary, but the length of time from ovulation until the start of the menstrual period is relatively constant, at 14 days. So the theory is that if a woman’s periods are quite regular, she can keep track of her fertile days by counting from the first day of her period. Presumably she’ll add a day or two onto each end for safety’s sake. Natural Family Planning also functions by monitoring fertility, but adds a symptom-based method (tracking the woman’s morning temperature or her cervical mucus) to try to determine the time of ovulation. A newer calendar method, called Standard Days, assumes fertility during a twelve-day period. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/96 "2009-03-26T10:51:19Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Good golly, no. You really don’t want to wear the same pad all day long, that would be…unfresh, shall we say. Every 4-6 hours, just about, except on the heaviest day when, depending on how your individual period works, 2-3 hours is probably good. > > Edit: on your lighter days, you _could_ wear the same pad all day…it’s just not all that great an idea. Just to point out, this varies by woman. I don’t have periods so heavy that I need to change the pad every 2-3 hours. In the heaviest days, the most I’ve changed pads is 4 times a day… and that occurs very rarely. Usually twice, maybe thrice. I do wear the same pad on very light days… I’m not up for keeping a tampon up there more than 6 hours, and there is still some random spotting that may stain my underwear. Change it at least once, though. Otherwise, yea, it gets unfresh. I also want to point out that the length of period varies for every woman and even by period. Some months mine is 2-3 days… Usually very bloody days. Some months they are 5-7 days… With most of them being very light flow. Usually 5 days of half kind of heavy days, and the rest normal to light flow days. Finally, **not every woman has agonizing cramps.** ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/97 "2009-03-26T13:00:45Z")
> [@Deereman](#): > > What time period is a woman the most fertile? And when is she supposedly the least fertile (for so called safe sex)? Also, did you know they have a name for women who use the rhythm method? Mommy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/98 "2009-03-26T13:33:10Z")
Oh shit! I totally forgot about the guy who thought women could just ‘hold it in’ when they had their periods. Nope. Sorry. Need. Bathroom. Now. And sadly, this wasn’t the same guy who thought we peed every month. Re: the blue liquid – isn’t it funny how much blood we’re _not_ squicked out by in action movies, horror, medical shows, etc.?) Re: hymens. Some girls are still dissuaded from using tampons, often by weird mothers or aunts, because they believe it will de-virginize them. Yes, they’ll have to live with their ‘first time’ being with an overly-bleached wad of cotton. How sad. But really, now that women folk are allowed to play sports, ride horses and masturbate, plenty have no hymen when their first period rolls around. Also, when all is said and done – from cramps to the lightest flow – it’s more like 3-10 days (and that’s not including PMS, for many women!) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/99 "2009-03-26T13:46:11Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > That’s exactly what I thought! You have to go through several per day? That sucks! What about pads – can one soak up all the blood from a day? No. Well, towards the end, when the flow has slowed to a trickle, one can, but the first couple of days, no. For really heavy days when you know you won’t have ready access to privacy to change, there is the heavy-duty tampon + heavy-duty pad option, which will last me 10-12 hours even on my heaviest days. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693/100 "2009-03-26T13:53:13Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Just to point out, this varies by woman. I don’t have periods so heavy that I need to change the pad every 2-3 hours. In the heaviest days, the most I’ve changed pads is 4 times a day… and that occurs very rarely. Usually twice, maybe thrice. > Finally, **not every woman has agonizing cramps.** This is very true. **nyctea scandiaca** ’s measurements sound pretty light to me; I’ve always had fairly heavy ones. I’ve even known one or two people who could, in fact, hold in most of the flow and release it voluntarily. But for most of us, it’s not like that. Cramps were worst for me as a young teen when I started; now I hardly get them. Instead I get half a day of tension headache that magically disappears when it’s done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-never-knew-about-the-other-sex-until-recently/490693.md?page=6)