sizing up sperm

So, remember that super fun game I showed you before? Well, Ian found it when he was reading about this cool special coming up on the National Geographic channel called "Sizing up Sperm". Basically it's a special that takes the sperm's journey to life size (using people to show how difficult their journey is). Here's the link to the video preview; it looks funny and interesting!

It's already shown twice, but the next showing is this Sunday at 2pm on the National Geographic Channel.

Also, on the "Sizing up Sperm" page, I learned some interesting facts:

Beating the Odds

Ever wonder how much luck is involved in getting pregnant? The sperm and egg have to be joined in a relationship with millions-to-one odds. But once the winning sperm triumphs, the miracle of life begins.

•Around 350,000 babies are born every day. (Whoa!)

•The male testicles hang freely in order to maintain a temperature that is three degrees cooler than the rest of the body, and they produce 1,000 sperm with every heartbeat. (That's a lotta sperms!)

•X and Y sperm are produced in almost equal numbers; girls (X) are thought to be faster, but boys (Y) live longer, so the race is wide open. (Equality among sperm!)

•The first sperm cell was officially ‘discovered’ in 1677 by a Dutchman named Antoine van Leeuwenhoek. (Well, sure. With a last name like Leeuwenhoek, what else are you going to be doing besides looking at semen under a microscope?)

•Only one percent of sperm that make it into the cervix have any chance of making it out alive.
(AWESOME. This does not sound promising for adding to my odds.)

•Nineteenth-century evolutionary psychologists believed that the purpose of the female orgasm was to keep a woman lying down longer after sex, keeping sperm in the body and increasing her probability of conception. (hmmm.....)

•More recently, it has been suggested the female orgasm evolved to create a stronger bond between lovers, increasing the chances of the couple staying together after a child is born. (I like this rationale better.)

•In ideal surroundings, sperm can live up to 5 days in a woman's body. (Go sperms go!)

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed your little lesson about sperm for the day! If you want to learn more about "Sizing up Sperm" go here!

~M