Nerd Nite SF #153: The Science of Solo Sex, The Princess Bride, and Photography

“1,000 People Masturbated… for Science!”
By: Danielle Bezalel

In a first-of-its-kind study, my research team and I surveyed over 1,000 people with vulvas to find out how using the Magic Wand vibrator daily impacts stress, pleasure, confidence, body image, relationship connectivity, sleep, and well-being. The results? Sexy and science-backed. This talk dives into what we learned, how we did it, and why pleasure deserves a seat at the research table.

Danielle Bezalel, MPH (aka DB), is a sex educator and the creator/host of the podcast Sex Ed with DB. With over 330K downloads and a vibrant online following, Danielle is known for making inclusive, medically accurate, and fun sex ed accessible to all. She’s collaborated with leading brands like Magic Wand, Lion’s Den, and Uberlube. Go to sexedwithdb.com to learn more and listen to Sex Ed with DB wherever you listen to pods.

“Iocaine Scandal: Was Westley REALLY Immune?”
By: Trace Dominguez

Westley, (aliases: the Dread Pirate Roberts, Farm Boy) claims immunity from an Australian poison known as “Iocaine” but is this true? Can someone become immune to iocaine powder? Was this all an elaborate ruse to add to his mystique as the Dread Pirate? Science Communicator Trace Dominguez looks into this heinous poisoning and uncovers a surprising new angle on the death of Vizzini.

“Photography: How to See the World”
By: Yousef Hindy

Up until 150 years ago, if you wanted to see what something looked like, you had to go and see it for yourself or commission an artist to do a painting or sculpture. Today, you can see in perfect color what anyone or anything looks like on demand. How did we get here? In this talk we will explore how artificial and biological imaging work and how they let us see the world.
Yousef Hindy is an engineer at Applied Intuition, where he uses images to teach cars how to drive themselves. He also takes pictures from time to time.