Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex

A rollicking, myth-busting history of sex that moves from historical attempts at birth control to Hildegard von Bingen's treatise on the female orgasm, demystifying plenty of urban legends along the way.

Roman physicians told female patients they should sneeze out as much semen as possible after intercourse to avoid pregnancy. Historical treatments for erectile dysfunction included goat testicle transplants. Sex has changed in a million ways since Adam and Eve, the original awkward virgins, and in a million others it hasn't. With unstoppable curiosity and mischievous humor, science writer Rachel Feltman debunks myths, breaks down stigma, and uses the long, outlandish history of sex to dissect present-day practices, attitudes, and taboos.

Feltman knows that cracking jokes is an effective way to dismantle fear and help people gain scientific literacy, and indeed, as it gravitates toward the strange, Been There, Done That delivers some meaningful and sorely needed sex-ed. Explorations into age-old questions and bizarre trivia around birth control, aphrodisiacs, STIs, courtship rituals, and more show that, when it comes to carnal pleasures and procreation, there's never been a normal and that sex isn't something to be scared of.