Why don't humans have a mating season? - Big Questions - (Ep. 23)

Hi, I'm Craig. I don't have a mating season, and this is mental floss on YouTube

Today I'm going to answer piano trumpet's big question. Why don't humans have a mating season like most animals

So a mating season is a period of time in which breeding primarily occurs. This is often related to the female estrus cycle

A female animal in heat changes both physiologically and behaviorally, making her more sexually active during that time

And piano trumpet is right that many animals have this, including wolves, snakes, bears, hobbits, and so on

Quick warning, if it wasn't already obvious, we're going to be talking a little bit about sex in this video. Let's get started, if you're allowed

Women don't have an estrus cycle though, they have a menstrual cycle. During the

ester cycle, if a mammal doesn't conceive, she reabsorbs the endometrial lining

a mucous membrane in the uterus. On the other hand, women shed a lot of endometrial

lining during the menstrual cycle. The other main difference between the menstrual cycle and the estrus cycle is that women are sexually active throughout the

their menstrual cycle. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this video, mammals who have an estrus cycle tend to only be sexually active when they're in heat

I've never said estrus cycle so much in my life. So why do humans have a menstrual cycle rather than an estrus cycle Well we don really know One theory is that women evolved to shed their endometrial lining to protect the uterus from dangerous pathogens As we all know there is more endometrial lining in humans than other mammals So another

theory is that the thick lining has evolved to protect a mother from the embryo that's

stealing too many of the mother's resources or making its way too deep into the uterine

wall. We're just not sure. All that said, humans in general have seasonal sexual habits

Peak sex times for humans are in June and December. How do we know? Well, a few things

make it clear, more children are conceived during summer and winter, more condoms are

bought during those times, and more STDs are diagnosed during that time

Google searches also confirm this. People tend to Google sexual words, dating sites

and pornography domains more during the winter and summer. There's a slight drop-off of

those types of searches during the spring and fall. So they don't spring up, they kind of

fall off. We could have wrote that in, those puns in, to this. Some experts believe that we

are affected by a mating season or sex cycles. Others suggest that these times just coincide

with vacations and holidays so people are more likely to have sex during those times

I think it's because television is in reruns during those times, so they're bored

Thanks for watching Mental Floss on YouTube, made with the help of these lovely mammals. If you have a question of your own, leave it below in the comments. See you next week