Mammals are able to maintain stiff erections because their penises have a rare form of internal reinforcement. Now, a discovery inspired by playing with a garden hose means we finally understand the extent of the benefits this offers.
“It was a pandemic lockdown issue,” says Peter Palffy-Muhoray, a physicist at Kent State University in Ohio who normally studies liquid crystals. “While out in the back yard, we noticed the funny undulations of a hose, and wondered about it. Then we stumbled on the amazing biological parallel. Of course, how can one resist a puzzle involving penises?”
The rest of this article is available here.