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Space Sex

Via Jason Zengerle, a Christopher Beam Explainer in Slate gets to the first thing I thought of when I heard the crazy astronaut story — do people have sex on the space shuttle? The truth appears to be a somewhat disappointing “no.” But if it did happen, it’d be super-awesome, right? Slate says no:

Which raises the question: Would space sex be any good? Recent research suggests it would not. For one thing, zero gravity can induce nausea — a less-than-promising sign for would-be lovers. Astronauts also perspire a lot in flight, meaning sex without gravity would likely be hot, wet, and surrounded by small droplets of sweat. In addition, people normally experience lower blood pressure in space, which means reduced blood flow, which means … well, you know what that means.

Frankly, I find some of this unconvincing. Does “hot, wet, and surrounded by small droplets of sweat” really sound all that terrible?

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