5 things you didn't know about sperm

Watched this show about sex myths with Dr. Drew (love him) on the Discovery Channel. Some interesting findings:

1) Sperm can live in a woman's body for up to three days. So while you think pregnancy occurs during sex, it can occur up to three days after intercourse.

2) Not all sperm are created equal. Leading the charge are warrior sperm, which destroy any sperm left from another partner. So if Guy 1 had sex with a woman at noon and she hooked up with Guy 2 at 6 p.m., Guy 2's warriors would kill the sperm from guy 1. These warrior sperm clear the way for the quarterback sperm, which go for the long haul to the egg.

3) Sperm containing male and female DNA behave differently. Male sperm are quicker but less hardy, while female sperm swim more slowly but last longer in the body. Therefore, there is something to be said for timing sex near ovulation to predict your child's gender.

4) When a man has sex with a tall woman, he makes more sperm. It's also theorized that the more powerful the man, the more sperm he produces. The guy on Dr. Drew hypothesizes that the reason there is so much infertility is that the role of men has been downplayed in society.

5) A man's sperm is turned over every few weeks in his body, and it takes several months from start to finish to create new sperm.

Yes, I am a science geek. I think this stuff is fascinating.

Have a great weekend. Ours is action-packed. Get your mind out of the gutter!

Worlds away

I loved this article about extra-solar system planets, especially because of the possibility it evokes. I certainly don't believe life stops at our solar system. And when you think of the universe as a whole, your own issues and problems seem tiny in comparison. Perhaps a parallel Christine is blogging about her day bazillions of light-years away as we speak. It really boggles the mind.

Scent, emotion and memory

Was talking to my mom this morning about how scent is closely tied to memory and more specifically, emotion and memory. Found this really interesting article about how it works. I know for me, the smell of suntan lotion makes me think of my days on the beach here. Certain colognes are ruined for me forever by old boyfriends. And like Will Smith says, the smell of a grill really DOES spark up nostalgia.