New research shows that chimps have sex toys:
The tool for sex, he explained, is a leaf. Ideally a dead leaf, because that makes the most noise when the chimp clips it with his hand or his mouth.
“Males basically have to attract and maintain the attention of females,” Dr. McGrew said. “One way to do this is leaf clipping. It makes a rasping sound. Imagine tearing a piece of paper that’s brittle or dry. The sound is nothing spectacular, but it’s distinctive.”
O.K., a distinctive sound. Where does the sex come in?
“The male will pluck a leaf, or a set of leaves, and sit so the female can see him. He spreads his legs so the female sees the erection, and he tears the leaf bit by bit down the midvein of the leaf, dropping the pieces as he detaches them. Sometimes he’ll do half a dozen leaves until she notices.”
And then?
“Presumably she sees the erection and puts two and two together, and if she’s interested, she’ll typically approach and present her back side, and then they’ll mate.”
My first reaction, as a chauvinistic human, was to dismiss the technology as laughably primitive — too crude to even qualify as a proper sex tool. But Dr. McGrew said it met anthropologists’ definition of a tool: “He’s using a portable object to obtain a goal. In this case, the goal is not food but mating.”
Yay, Bob!
A librarian friend I know just told the story about how her twenty-something son, and his twenty-something girlfriend ran up the phone bill by thousands of dollars because they were texting each other while on the family trip to China (they live in Denver) while sharing a hotel room.
A couple of friends (*cough* Perkins *cough*) sort of dragged me into texting, but I don't mind it. For a chatty catching up, though, I much prefer a phone call or email.
I still don't know how to check my email on my phone, though. That seems beyond me.
I finally succumbed to texting this past December on my road trip when it became a useful tool to coordinate with people. It's good when you just want to relay short pieces of information or ask a single question to get an answer. For instance, when you want to let a couple dozen people know that Joshua Jackson just jogged right past you.
Our cell phone plan charges for texting so we don't use it. I have nothing against texting, I just don't want to pay for it.
I think Americans on average get charged much more for texting than people in other countries.
I think Americans on average get charged much more for texting than people in other countries.
I pay $5/month for (I think) 500 texts, but it sure would be nice if it were included with my "unlimited data" plan.
New research shows that chimps have sex toys:
I quibble with use of the term "sex toy". According to the article, it's not being used for the sex itself, but to attract the female's attention to the male's erection so that they can have sex. It's like tight jeans.
wow, thanks for that warning Lisa. I have gone alllllll the way over to the office kitchen and now have large-ass cup of coffee.
Someone is coming for a second look at my place tomorrow. YAY!
