Yes they can! According to biologist Bruce Bagemihl, there is documented evidence that some 450 species engage in “gay” and “lesbian” sexual activity, including whiptail lizards, bottlenose dolphins, flamingoes, vampire bats, giraffes, and penguins. According to a recent study on sheep, published in the journal Endocrinology, approximately 8 percent of rams exhibit sexual preferences for other male partners, instead of for ewes. Then, of course, you’ve got your bonobos-those scandalously hedonistic, orgiastic, no-holds-barred sensualists of the ape world-that do it all: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, bondage, golden showers, leeches, and snails are hermaphrodites, in case you’re into that sort of thing. We’re yet to come upon a case of cross-species identity disorder, for instance, a platypus that feels it’s actually a kinkajou but born in a platypus’s body.

The journal Chemical Senses isn’t usually at the top of my reading list, but it certainly came in handy to answer this question. In 2004 it published an article entitled “A Longitudinal Descriptive Study of Self-Reported Abnormal Smell and Taste Perception in Pregnant Women.” The article described the “odor hedonics” of pregnancy. Say what? I love it when they use fancy terms instead of just saying the perception of pleasant or unpleasant smells in pregnancy.

This article and others confirm the idea that pregnant women have an especially acute sense of smell. This is more common in early pregnancy and disappears after delivery. These authors go on to speculate that the abnormalities in smell may be explained by some natural internal mechanism to avoid poisons. They noted that the odors of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and coffee in particular were commonly reported as being perceived as stronger than normal during early pregnancy.

It is postulated that this bionic sense of smell is caused by an increase in hormones, specifically plasma estradiol (an estrogen). Women also have an increase in estradiol during the menstrual cycle, with a peak at ovulation (around day 14). Some women report increased sense of smell during this period of their cycle as well.

Whatever the reason or cause, I have found the bionic sense of smell very troublesome. During my own wife’s pregnancy, I was forced to shower immediately upon entering the house, loofah myself aggressively with a rough sea sponge, brush my teeth excessively, and scrape my tongue with barbaric oral-hygiene implements… And despite my best efforts, I was still occasionally put outside like a bag of rotten garbage.

The closest thing that we found when looking for documentation of human placentophagia was that certain mammals do eat the placenta. Oh, and Billy’s friend Gail likes Polenta. But that really doesn’t have much to do with the answer.

The internet has many references to eating the placenta and recipes abound. It is unclear whether this is actually done. Many ancient cultures revered the placenta. The Navajo felt that the placenta was sacred but poisonous. The Shilluk, a Sudanese people on the West Nile, apparently practiced a symbolic ingestion of the afterbirth. They buried the placenta at the roots of a fruit tree, and the following season ritualistically ate the fruit and drank tea made from the fruit. Human placenta has also been an ingredient in some traditional Chinese medicines.

If you plan to run the New York City Marathon this year, you should reserve your Saturday night for the annual marathon eve dinner at Tavern on the Green. You can be sure that it will be a carbohydrate-heavy meal since its sponsor is a pasta company. Most marathons have similar meals, but these pre-event meals may not be entirely beneficial.

The old theory behind the big spaghetti meal was that carbohydrate loading could increase the glycogen in the muscles. Glycogen is stored carbohydrate in muscle and it serves as the body’s reserve energy source. Fatigue during endurance activities is partially due to a depletion of muscle glycogen stores.

More recently, last-minute carbohydrate loading has been avoided by most serious marathoners. Experts believe that you should eat a normal diet with about 65 percent carbohydrates the week before the marathon. It is important not to increase your total calories.

If you eat a balanced meal the week before the marathon, you should have already loaded your body with glycogen, so there is no need to carry the extra weight from the big pasta meal. Also, it can be difficult to find a nice bathroom for a sit-down in New York City, and with a belly full of spaghetti Bolognese you may need one somewhere around mile 17.

Poor poor toads. They seem to always take a backseat to frogs. Frogs get kissed and turn into princes and turn into princes and toads just get to cause warts. Well, here is some good news for toads. Toads do not cause warts. Toads do, however, produce a substance from the parotid gland behind the eyes to act as protection. This toxin can make other animals very sick if ingested and can be irritating to the eyes. Some people even go way beyond touching toads and will lick them in an attempt to get high from a supposed psychedelic substance on their skin.

A special type of toad, the Bufo toad, does contain a psychedelic substance but it doesn’t cause hallucinations. Be careful because people have been arrested for toad licking.

Getting pregnant can be tricky business for some. As couples are trying to conceive at older ages, the process has become more regimented, mechanical, and scientific. Temperatures are taken, ovulation kits are scattered across the bedroom, and books and books are piled on the bedside table. It’s a miracle that there is even time for sex. Once the sex finally happens, the postcoital positioning begins. Some experts believe that lying down for twenty to thirty minutes after sex may boost your chances of conceiving. Others recommend a pillow placed under the hips to add a little gravity to the mix.

There is no evidence to suggest that standing on your head will help at all, although it would be very interesting to try to have sex while standing on your head. If you don’t conceive you could at least get a job with Cirque du Soleil.

You must get pap smear only when you reach 40?

Answer: No. Beginning 18 (or earlier if you are sexually active) you should have a yearly pap smear as a routine part of your health. Even if you are not sexually active, a pap smear provides very important information about the health of your reproductive system and can help detect any abnormalities early.