Apparently, the science is sound (UPDATE: Maybe not so much). The headline and the subject might be *slightly* NSFW, so it’s after the break.

Phallus-shaped mushroom can instantly trigger an intense female orgasm

The study, which appeared in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, was the first to describe the morphology and chemistry of the mushroom. It also included a smell test whereby half of all female participants were recorded having experienced spontaneous orgasms while sniffing the mushroom.

Sound too good to be true? Well, there is a catch. While the mushroom’s odor produced a heightened arousal in most of the female participants, men who took the smell test found the odor to be absolutely disgusting. The aroma, in and of itself, was described as being “fetid,” which means it won’t exactly make for a very appealing cologne, in spite of its remarkable ability.

I gotta wonder about the safety of something like that. Any chemical that can produce that remarkable of a response has *got* to have some sort of down side, beyond just being stanky. But imagine if (“when” is perhaps more likely) someone produces a synthetic version, perhaps even without the smell. In movies and TV shows it’d be played for laughs, but I can see this causing one *hell* of a ruckus. Someone sprays it into a bar. On an airplane. A church. There’d be panic and heart attacks. Hell, done in a church it’d lead to religious whackiness…. half would think it’s “yay, God,” the other half “it’s the devil.”

UPDATE: A lot of people were unimpressed with the minimal data that was released to back up the claims about the effects of this mushroom. So… well, until further notice it should be considered “about as trustworthy as a politicians promise.” But man, imagine the storytelling possibilities of a chemical or mix of chemicals that has this sort of effect on people. Not just as a way to help people who have psychological , physical , neurological or biochemical problems… but as an alternative to tear gas. Sure, if it works it apparently only works for women. But nothing out there says that *if* this works a modified version, or something completely different, might not work for men too. And the question then becomes: what happens if you are immersed in a cloud of weaponized Giggitty Gas? Will you continue to… errrr… giggitty throughout the whole time? What effects would that have long-term? Would people become addicted to it? Would it become the *only* way they could get off?

Imagine the next James Bond movie: SPECTRE captures Bond. Rather than torturing him or threatening to zap his nads off with a laser, they simply strap a Giggitty Gas breathing mask on him until he is, ah, “burned out.” Bond of course escapes, saves the day, gets the girl… and finds that he is now permanently incapable of getting it on. THE END.