MEN BEHAVING BADLY...

摘要

Modern man. Is he a lying, scheming philanderer or a protective, fatherly companion? It turns out he's all of the above: he's your typical animal.rnAlthough, if I'm reading Faye Flam correctly, he's an animal that missed out on the really good stuff when it comes to sexual performance. He lacks the potent delivery system of the polyclad flatworm, a ribbon-like sea dweller whose acidic semen burns its way through to its target. He lacks a penis bone, which means that, unlike the walrus, he cannot be -well - ever ready. He also lacks the staying power of stick insects, which are capable of maintaining intercourse for months. And he doesn't even come close to his primate cousins: "A chimp boasts testicles twice thernsize of a man's and a sperm count that makes ours look dismal."rnIt's enough to make you wonder how the human species managed to successfully reproduce at all, much less overrun the planet. The Score doesn't really address thatrnquestion, but it makes a good case that, in a social species like our own, corrosive semen isn't nearly as effective a strategy as conniving one's way into the bedroom.