Good Lord Peter, what kind of magazine are you promoting to poor
innocent readers of the Internet? Figuring "Good Old Peter" is
probably on to something I did a google search for "New Scientist" and
the first thing that popped up was:
"Oral sex-related cancer at 30-year high".

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

Great!

Bruce, you have discovered one of the best kept secrets of science.

It does not have to be as boring as the teachers made it in High
School. It can actually be quite exciting.

As a Zoology was my academic training, even though IT and
telecommunications provided most of my living, I have never ceased to
be interested in the "inner world". That's why I have a very good
binocular microscope on my boat.

One can even discuss at the dinner table in very polite company,
providing one keeps a straight face and portrays the correct amount of
"academic" enthusiasm, normally taboo subjects such as
sado-masochistic sex practices of animals such as the hermaphroditic
common garden snail Helix aspersa and the oral sexual antics of the
praying mantis. I have done so with immunity on a number of occasions
and surprisingly got invited back again.

I don't know if you know it but many snails are hermaphrodites; that
is they have both male and female sex organs within the same body
there being no distinct male or female sexes. In other words, their
religious mantra is "Do unto others as they are doing it unto thee".
When they conjugate (I refuse to use the vulgar Americanism, the "F"
word), they place their opposing glands against each other and this is
where the sado-masochism comes in. They have another gland which
produces a large pointed calcium dart which each fires into the body
of the other partner as they writhe around each other in copious slime
secretions. This causes them get overly excited and thus to ejaculate
sperm into each other. Thus cross fertilisation is achieved. Very
erotic indeed. Well, I at least am very aroused at this time.

There is nothing new on the face of the earth. If the Intelligent
Designers were appraised of this knowledge they would be forced to
accept sado-masochistic web sights showing cavorting bondage and
whipping devotees as permissible for their children and adherents to
watch as it has obviously been designed by a creator into even the
lower life forms. To the pure, all things are pure.

As to the praying mantis. The male mounts the willing female from
behind after usually (species dependent) presenting her with a meal of
an insect. He inserts his "thingee" into the appropriate place and
begins to perform intercourse. OK. Pretty standard and not very erotic
so far you say with a yawn.

Now we come to the interesting bit. The head of insects contains the
"brain" or cerebral ganglia which have an inhibitory action on the
other ganglia in its body which do much of the controlling of the
nervous system. This means that it tends to slow down actions. The
"brain" and thus the head are not at all vital to the insect as ours
is. In fact, if you cut off a beetle's or a fly's head it will still
live and walk about. It will eventually starve as it has also lost its
mouthparts.

Well, the male is still humping away as he was when we left him but
cannot hump fast enough to ejaculate his sperm. At this stage the
female, who can turn her head around on her thorax over 180 degrees
does so and begins to eat him head first. As soon as his head is gone,
there is no longer inhibition against the other ganglia and the body
actions, in this case, humping (I didn't want to use the term
"Thrusting" as that may overly excite you and at your age that could
be dangerous) faster and then ejaculating. In a daze of post-coital
bliss and relaxation his entire body is finally consumed by the love
of his life. - What a way to go. Much better than having a cigarette
afterwards and thinking "Oh God! now I have to have a shower. What is
her name? I hope she doesn't think that I want to maintain a
relationship and all the other thoughts.

By the way, this is also the origin of the oft used term "giving head"

My God I do get carried away sometimes.

cheers
Peter