Let's talk about sex. Though many of us are outwardly bashful when discussing our own sexual mores and desires, most of us, in private, find the topic fascinating. Whether through reading gossip columns about the illicit affairs of celebrities, or advice pieces telling us how we might achieve such mind blowing coitus as to change our lives forever, we basically love learning about sex and its place in our modern, progressive culture. Of course, being an extremely intimate act between two human beings, there are some aspects of sex that we tend to sweep under the carpet, prefer not to talk about, or else had no inkling of. Here, then, are some pretty weird things that you probably didn't know about sex.

1. Smoking affects your performance 

Those who do not smoke can expect to enjoy longer lasting tumescence.

2. Being drunk does not equal good sex 

A lot of people say that drunk sex is the best sex, but your response to sexual activity when inebriated is a lot slower than normal and alcohol reduces your sexual function.

3. Female orgasms serve a dual 'purpose' - to help you get pregnant 

When women orgasm, their vaginal walls vibrate in a manner that increases the chances of sperm reaching an egg.

4. Older people are having more sex than ever 

Studies from several medical institutions suggest that sexual activity among 65 and older adults has increased over the last few years.

5. Your sense of smell plays a key role 

Findings point to sense of smell as a vital part of sexual attraction.

6. Your nose swells in size during sex 

Weird.

7. Some condoms are made using milk products 

Are you lactose intolerant?

8. Average penis size reportedly comes in at 5.6 inches 

But it's all about how you use it.

9. Online surveys claim that 12% of adults have had work sex 

Risque.

10. Pubes are protecting you 

Shaving them increases your chances of catching a sexually transmitted disease.

11. Vibrators were invented as a cure for "female hysteria"

In the 19th Century.

12. Getting condom size right is important 

Don't just buy the biggest ones as a show of bravado.

13. Greece is the most sexually active nation

YAMMAS!

14. Whales have the biggest penis of any mammal 

On average, Killer Whales have eight foot members. All relative though, isn't it?

15. There is no correlation between penis size and shoe size 

The classic "Well, you know what they say..." is actually nonsense.

I think we've all learned something today. Take the knowledge with you, and share it as you see fit.

There are plenty of things in this world that we can all fight over or disagree on, from which political parties we vote for to whether pineapple has any place on a pizza. But there is perhaps one thing that we can all (or at least most of us can) agree on: sex is pretty damn great. There's terrible sex and there's amazing sex, depending on various factors with any sexual partners, but when it goes well there can be a vast amount of benefits. Obviously, it feels good, which doesn't really need to be said, but there have been a plethora of studies and research over the years that have revealed new reasons why we should be getting down to it on the regular. In men, frequent ejaculation can lower the risk of prostate cancer, while it also lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease in everyone. It has been found to boost your immune system, relieve headaches, while stress-reducing hormones like prolactin relaxes you for a good night's sleep. In addition to this, you can actually burn calories with an instance of horizontal jogging, with a study in the journal PLOS ONE showing that the "level of intensity that is exerted from sexual activity" falls somewhere in between a long walk and jogging in an average session. But now, to add to the many reasons why you should get laid as often as possible, it apparently makes you smarter too. Researchers from Coventry University in the UK recently conducted a study in which they asked 73 adults aged 50 to 83 how often they had sex, then asked them to perform tasks to test their brain function. Various categories were touched upon, including memory, fluency, and visuospatial abilities. The study, which was published in The Journals of Gerontology, was mostly tested on women, with men only taking up 38.4% of the participants. One example is naming as many words they could that started with the letter 'f', while others had them copy a complex drawing from memory as accurate as possible. As it turns out, those that had sex at least weekly scored higher on these cognitive function tests than those who had it less often, especially on tests that measured verbal fluency and visuospatial ability. A significant reason given is the fact that the more sex you have, the more dopamine is produced in your brain. This neurotransmitter has been linked to a bunch of important brain functions such as working memory and executive function, as well as being one of the more pleasurable things to be released in your body. Yet when you think about it - more sex tends to mean more social and mental engagement with others, which is always going to help with learning processes. Add on top of this the fact that the lack of stress and improved mood makes it easier to function in general, and it seems like a no-brainer.

It's easy to think that you're a sex expert: I mean, how hard is it really? After all, sex is just getting freaky with your partner, right? But no matter how many times you have perused the Kama Sutra looking for the next insane position to perform with your lover, or spent hours upon hours flicking through Reddit and the comments section of PornHub, there will always be some facts about sex that you won't be aware of. So, naive reader, here are 14 facts about sex that are really, REALLY, weird.

1. Sex can literally be mind-blowing

Transient global amnesia is a sudden loss of memory loss that has not been attributed to any common neurological condition. However, there is one thing that can induce it: Sex. According to a study published in the journal Stroke, research found that a certain type of tensing and straining in the abdomen and common during intercourse can deoxygenate blood flow to the brain, causing you to essentially pass out.

2. The list of weird fetishes is very long

There's fetishes for just about everything. Falling down the stairs? Climacophilia. Turned on by yourself dressed as a giant cartoon-like stuffed animal? Autoplushophilia. Whatever you can think of, there's more than likely a fetish for it... seriously.

3. There is a hell of a lot of bacteria in a kiss

Kissing is an important part of lifting the temperature in the bedroom/wherever you're planning to bang, but it also carries a lot of bacteria. In a 2014 study published in Micro-biome, researchers discovered that one ten-second kiss can transfer 80 million bacteria of over 700 varieties. Fear not though, most of the bacteria in the mouth are not harmful, so snog away!

4. You can break your penis

The human penis may contain no bones, but sudden and forceful bending can lead to the corpus cavernosum (cylinders of tissue the make up the penis) to fracture. Signs include a snapping sound, dark bruising and bleeding... ouch.

5. Some men break their penis on purpose

I wish this wasn't true, but it is. In a practice known as taqaandan, men will lower the shaft of their erect penis with one hand and then use the other hand to snap the upper shaft. When done correctly, the practice is said to be painless, much like knuckle-cracking.

6. Bats have oral sex

In a 2013 paper published in PLOS ONE, it was reported that bats engage in both fellatio and cunnilingus. While some theorists believed bats used oral as a way of cleaning each other, it turns out they practice it for the exact same reasons we do.

7. Crocodile dung and sour milk were used as contraceptives

The next time you're moaning about having to put on a condom or take the pill, just remember that ancient Egyptians used to use crocodile feces and sour milk to prevent from pregnancy. Both were applied intravaginally and were believed to nullify the effects of sperm.

8. Old people are still at it

30 per cent of Americans over 80 are still having sex regularly. according to 2010 study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Researchers also found that sexually active senior citizens aren't a fan of protection, with plenty of them not using it.

9. Plenty of people die having sex

An estimate cited in the Postgraduate Medical Journal claims that 0.6 per cent of all sudden deaths occur during sexual intercourse. While that number may not seem particularly high, think of all the different ways there are to suddenly die, then realize that means one in every 200 sudden death comes during intercourse.

10. Unfaithful men are more likely to die during sex

A 2012 study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that sudden death was significantly more common when a man was cheating on his partner. While no one knows the exact reason why, it is believed that the stress of keeping the affair secret and having to keep up with a presumably younger partner can lead to high blood pressure and heart rate.

11. More than half of all humans will have an STD at some point

A recent study also found that two-thirds of otherwise healthy Americans have some variety of HPV. The CDC estimates that America account for 20 million new STD cases every year, with them costing $16 billion in healthcare costs.

12. Herpes is set to get a lot more serious

According to the CDC, one in six Americans (50 million people) currently has genital herpes. However, it is set to get a lot worse by 2025, with it estimated that 40 - 50 per cent of men and women in America will have the disease.

13. Semen ejaculates insanely fast

According to the Kinsey Institute, a man's ejaculate travels at a pretty alarming speed. The study found that on average, a man's semen comes out at 28 miles per hour, which is 20 per cent faster than Usain Bolt.

14. The penis used to have a spine

A 2011 study published in Nature compared the human genome with some modern primates to find genetic deletions that make humans who we are. The study found 510 deletions responsible for plenty of important things such as increased brain size, but it's the deletion of the spined penis which men are most thankful for.

There you go, 14 strange facts about sex. Now, I don't know about you, but I think I've been put off the whole thing to be honest.

No one is born with casanova-esque levels of sexual prowess. As we all know, you can have great sex, terrible sex, mind-blowing sex and then boring sex, all with the same person, in the space of a week. Accordingly, before anyone becomes known for their amorous adventures, they've undoubtedly experienced their share of less than mind-blowing encounters.

But we live, we learn and along the way pick up some pretty good tips. Case in point: here are nine men who have revealed the most important thing they have learned from a woman about sex...

1.  You've got to know the basics first...

“Where the vagina is… I meant that as a joke, but now that I think about it, it’s true.”

2. Well, this is certainly useful information 

"One thing my girlfriend has taught me in bed is that I snore when I sleep on my back."

3. It's all about communication 

"I've learned it's better to open up the conversation and be up front about wants, needs, and no-nos when starting to have sex with someone. And to listen to theirs too instead of just having really boring sex for a while, and then slowly branching out or just trying something in the moment and potentially having it be met negatively."

4. You can't learn everything from pornography...

"I learned the rhythm of sex. I’m not sure how else to describe that concept. But sex has a rhythm to it and it’s not something you can learn from masturbating or watching porn or… reading sex advice. I think it’s the same kind of thing where like, you could watch golf on TV for hundreds of hours, but it’s not going to help your swing, not really. There are a lot of subtleties you just can’t learn without having sex."

5. Every man should take heed 

"It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ That’s easily the most important thing I've learned from a woman. Not that going fast and hard is bad, necessarily, but that giving it 100 percent porn star-jackhammer-style for five minutes isn’t the way to do it."

6. It's important to be aware of how it works for women too

"The female orgasm is really shocking to me. Like, guys spend a few years learning how to crank it and it’s just… easy. The female orgasm seems vastly more complicated, and coming to terms with the idea that you can’t force it was very important for a woman to explain to me."

7. This can't be stressed enough

"The most important thing I learned from a partner… early on in my sex life, mind you… was the importance of foreplay, and that it can be just as good or even better than sex."

8. Ditto this...

"This is embarrassing, but the importance of safe sex. I mean, maybe ‘embarrassing’ isn’t the right word. But when you’re young, I think a lot of people don’t think about the seriousness of STIs. Maybe because in high school and college and whenever you’re sexually active, so many people are still virgins or inexperienced. And I think there’s this unspoken idea that you really can’t get something unless you’re sleeping around a ton (or sleep with someone who is sleeping around). And that’s obviously very untrue. And that’s not even talking about pregnancy, or considering methods like ‘pulling out’ that get spread around but aren’t safe. My first serious girlfriend, the one I lost my virginity to, was religious about safe sex. She made sure we always had a condom no matter what. She really drilled that into my head and it’s a habit I picked up. And it’s pretty much saved my life at least once."

9. Be aware that everyone wants "different things" 

"Not being afraid to take charge. That was a big one. It’s not so much that I was afraid to take charge. I just assumed no women would be into that; I thought I was being polite. But this one woman was (and I know it’s a stereotype) this, like, quiet, polite librarian-type. And then in bed she really wanted me to do crazy stuff. It opened my eyes a lot. People want all different things"

Well, there you have it - did you learn something along the way?

In related news, research reveals the most dangerous sexual position for guys...

A wise person once said that everything in life is about sex. While that may or may not be true, particularly if you are celibate or else simply not particularly interested in making the beast with two backs on a semi nightly basis, for a large portion of the world's population, sex is an overpowering element of their modern lives. We are confronted with sexual imagery everywhere we go, from racy billboards on the subway advertising the latest protein shake to the glossy covers of magazines that advise their readers on anything and everything from sex positions to dirty talk. Instagram is chock full of models posing in angular, provocative fashion; chiselled abs and bulging biceps or else perfectly toned legs and million dollar smiles selling us something a little more profound; a way of life, a dream, an unattainable half reality. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba6mT5Cl3XT/?hl=en&taken-by=kimkardashian]] This obsession with copulation is nothing new, though, of course. Sex is one of our most primal instincts, the need to reproduce and keep our species alive and kicking, though perhaps now more than ever before we are beginning to explore sexual parameters with less prejudice and more intellectual enquiry. This certainly rings true in the world of science; more and more research is being done into relationships and sexual intercourse, from how best to live happily with your partner to decidedly more intimate aspects of one's bedroom activity. Now, though, research from Dr. Kristen Mark, a sex researcher from the University of Kentucky, has established something that goes counter to most of our ideas on sex and relationships might actually be the key to having a better time in bed. Dr Mark reasons that some novelty is eventually needed in the bedroom, before the act of sex becomes boring and monotonous, the same day after endless day. When this happens, cheating is likely to follow hot on the heels of the boredom. According to Dr Mark, it is vital to talk about what you want in bed, though doing this effectively might involve a small lie, as she explains; “Even when you’ve been with someone for years, talking about sex can be scary because you’re exposing a really vulnerable part of yourself. “Especially if you’re introducing something new that you want to try." Undoubtedly true, so what is one to do about this predicament? Apparently, all you need to do is frame your desires around a simple statement; claim that your sexual desires were the subject of a sex dream you had the previous night, and that the both of you were "trying whatever sex act is on your naughty to-do list.” That way, you can gauge your partner's reaction to whatever kinky sex fantasy you have, without feeling as though you have exposed your deepest darkest desires plainly when you might not feel comfortable doing so. Not bad, right?