This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/01/ejaculation-statistics-are-hard-to-pull-off

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ejaculation statistics are hard to pull off Ejaculation statistics are hard to pull off
(6 months later)
Letters
Tue 1 Aug 2017 19.14 BST
Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 19.09 GMT
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share via Email
View more sharing options
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+
Share on WhatsApp
Share on Messenger
Close
In her article (Making babies is beginning to look as difficult for men as it always has for women, 27 July), Suzanne Moore states that the average man “produces 14 gallons of ejaculate in a lifetime”. One doesn’t have to be Einstein to work out that 14 gallons of semen would require 12,740 ejaculations of five millilitres volume (the oft-quoted average). This would mean an average of just over four ejaculations per week, every week for a 60-year period (or five per week over 50 years, etc), say from early teens to early seventies. This seems unlikely. Perhaps Ms Moore is confusing gallons with litres – 14 litres produces rather more believable averages. I think that some proper checking of journalists’ figures is required.Andrew BarnardStaines, MiddlesexIn her article (Making babies is beginning to look as difficult for men as it always has for women, 27 July), Suzanne Moore states that the average man “produces 14 gallons of ejaculate in a lifetime”. One doesn’t have to be Einstein to work out that 14 gallons of semen would require 12,740 ejaculations of five millilitres volume (the oft-quoted average). This would mean an average of just over four ejaculations per week, every week for a 60-year period (or five per week over 50 years, etc), say from early teens to early seventies. This seems unlikely. Perhaps Ms Moore is confusing gallons with litres – 14 litres produces rather more believable averages. I think that some proper checking of journalists’ figures is required.Andrew BarnardStaines, Middlesex
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
Science
Health & wellbeing
Sex
letters
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share via Email
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+
Share on WhatsApp
Share on Messenger
Reuse this content