Sex and history make a good combination. So good, in fact, that during a recent house party, I sat entranced during two hours of History Channel's "Sex in the Civil War" and the riveting follow-up, "More Sex in the Civil War." Lesson learned: Heavy beards and bloody battles did not prevent soldiers from getting it on (getting VD -- another story). History Channel may want to look into adapting nerve.com's recent feature, "The Ten Greatest Sex Lives in History." It's perhaps the only list that includes Genghis Khan, Wilt Chamberlain and Roman Emperor Nero. The article packs in many a sexual fact -- Khan is possibly the direct ancestor of 8 percent of the Central Asian population, Nero tied people to stakes so he could "run around in an animal pelt assaulting their genitals" and actress Tallulah Bankhead dated Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Billie Holiday, despite the fact that her name was Tallulah. The article also includes Madonna (and reminds us that "Like a Prayer" is simultaneously about praying and blow jobs) and Alfred Kinsey, who romanced his wife, fellow researchers and graduate-student staff all while not being particularly attractive and wearing a truly heinous bow tie. Our favorite quote from the piece is from Giacomo Casanova, who wrote, "Cultivating whatever gave me pleasure to my senses was always the chief business of my life. I never found any occupation more important." And this coming from a guy who was also a mathematician and librarian.
Save the date -- May 3: The release date of "Jimi Hendrix: The Story of the Lost Sex Tape," featuring 11 minutes of pornographic footage featuring Hendrix and two women. Just in time for Mother's Day!
Australia warns: beware the visitors: Backpacker attack! The Times of India reports that Australian authorities have warned that international backpackers on the lookout for sex have increased the risk of sexually transmitted infections in the country. After an eight-year (!) study of about 5,700 of these frisky travelers who attended the Sydney Sexual Health Centre, health officials claim the tourists generally binge drink and often don't use protection. These vacation dalliances are apparently causing an "STI crisis" in the country, with chlamydia, genital warts and herpes spreading wildly. Who to look out for if you're in Australia? Most of the naughty backpackers were from the United Kingdom or Ireland and in their mid-20s. Scary folk!
Show we're totally sad we missed: "Women, Sex & Desire: Sometimes You Feel Like a Ho, Sometimes You Don't," a new dance-theater piece by Gesel Mason, which played last weekend at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park.
Most random sex news of the week: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's father had his first sexual experience when he was just 11, Papa Sarkozy says in his new autobiography.
Our latest favorite Tiger Woods-related sex headline: "Tiger's Lawyer -- Selling Sex Toys is a Dil-Don't," from the good people at TMZ.com.
Jordan Bartel is assistant editor at b. Follow him on Twitter, @jordanbartel.