Spanish Flies
« Food In Porn |Main| Two Lovers, No Sex: What's A Girl To Do? »
October 12, 2005
Fact or fiction?
When I was little, the Spanish Fly was an often-quoted aphrodisiac renowned
for it's legendary power to make people hornier than hell. As I grew up, I wondered
if the Spanish Fly wasn't just as odious as the ever-elusive Sea Monkey, or
any other bogus marketing scam for that matter.
In looking up oysters for research purposes, I happened upon this aphrodisiac
once again and it reminded me that I never did figure out whether the powder
was for real or not. It turns out that the substance is comes from the Blister
Beetle according to Wikipedia, has a long history from the ancient times of
Hippocrates to the orgies of the Marquis de Sade, and it was even used as a
Moroccan spice blend until it was banned from their markets in the 1990's. [1]
Apparently, it isn't the beetle that makes up the Spanish Fly, but rather a
crystalline substance called cantharadin that the insect secretes when it feels
threatened. There isn't really all that much information on its aphrodisiac
qualities, although it seems that the substance causes blisters on the skin,
which definitely can't be great for oral digestion in my books.
Apparently, cantharidin causes urinary irritation when ingested and leads to
both itching and genital swelling that is then mistaken for irrepressible sexual
hunger. Unfortunately, too much of it can cause severe pain and death as happened
to two women in Britain in 1954, when a guy named Arthur Ford, trying to use
the elixir to lure an office colleague, laced coconut bon bons with the substance
that in turn caused two deaths and led to his imprisonment. [2]
So, it seems that the Spanish Fly does indeed exist, but apparently it's power
to make people horny is a huge fiction because the fact is that in large quantities
it can be rather lethal when ingested. The concept drew attention of some porn
producers, resulting in Horny
Spanish Flies.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_fly_%28insect%29
[2] http://www.spanish-fly.edoc.org.uk/
Posted by sloth at October 12, 2005 6:55 PM
i wanna fuck you! i'll show you a good time w/ me and i'll buy you whatever you want!
Posted by: Jason at January 13, 2007 7:18 AM
You are so fly, I just wanna see you in a bed as naked as as the day you were born. Can you arrange that for me.
Posted by: HOTTRODD at April 28, 2007 9:47 AM
Post a comment