Three Wondrous Facts About The Vagina

by Evonne Griffin
(Queens, New York)

Blue Balls (when climax isn't achieved)

Vaginas and Sharks

Do you know that vaginas and sharks have something in common? (No it's not teeth). This fun fact comes to us courtesy of Oprah’s website. Squalene, an organic compound that resides in sharks' livers, is also a component of the vagina's natural lubricant.

Also found in olive oil, squalene potentially packs beneficial properties that help protect skin, boost the immune system, process cholesterol and, according to Oprah, mitigate the effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. What wondrous common ground vaginas and sharks share?

Penises aren't the only genitals to get boners...

Yep. The labia minora and clitoris can stiffen during arousal because they're partially composed of erectile tissue; as happens in the penis, that tissue floods with blood when things heat up. The vaginal tissue swells, stiffens, et voilà — boner.

and testicles aren't the only organs to get "blue balls."

Because blood rushes to the genitals when people get aroused, when climax isn't achieved, vaginas can be left with the same uncomfortable feeling so often associated with penises and testicles.

According to writer Alexia LaFata, the vaginal sensation amounts to "throbbing, hot pangs of discomfort" after blood flows into the clitoris, labia (see above) and vaginal walls but isn't released — exactly like when arousal sends all this blood to the penis and then it just sits there, the penis all erect and ready and uncomfortable and hypersensitive. Blue balls: They affect everyone.