# Who invented oral sex?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 31, 2001, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806 "2001-10-31T23:03:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![FyreFiend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@FyreFiend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FyreFiend)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806/21 "2001-11-01T19:18:42Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JillGat \*  
> \*\*I was at a zoo once, passing the chimp enclosure behind a 4th grade field trip. The male chimp was giving himself a blowjob and one 4th grade boy was mesmerized, saying again and again, “HOW does he DO that?” “ **HOW** does he **DO** that??” The teacher was vainly trying to draw the class’ attention elsewhere. \*\*

And from that day forward the boy never left his room again 😉

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**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806/22 "2001-11-01T19:29:34Z")

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I don’t think oral sex was invented. It was discovered.

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**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806/23 "2001-11-01T22:11:55Z")

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Rae Dawn Chong. Didn’t anyone see “Quest for Fire?”

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**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806/24 "2001-11-02T01:49:45Z")

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1025 views, but only 25 replies (at the time of writing). Is this some sort of record?

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**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-oral-sex/90806/25 "2001-11-02T03:09:18Z")

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Well, the Romans knew of it. In _A History of Private Life, Volume I, From Pagan Rome to Byzantium_, Phillipe Aries and Georges Duby, General Editors, fellatio was one of the big taboos because they considered it a form of cannibalism (the swallowing bit) and a man was considered servile and weak if he gave a woman pleasure using his mouth.

Here is a copy of the Kama Sutra as translated by Richard Burton: [http://www.thekamasutra.com/book/](http://www.thekamasutra.com/book/) From what I noted in the Introduction is that the book is dated somewhere between the first century AD and sixth century AD, with other chapters added later on.

So, it’s been around for a while, but I’m not where it first caught on.

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