Who’s curious about sex? Pretty much everyone, if they’re being honest. From the general topics of orgasms – and the difficulty getting to that hallowed nirvana for some – to the chemical nature of the female ejaculate, there’s plenty of copulation-based queries waiting to be brought up. One of the more sensitive topics, to put it lightly, is related to the ability of men to fracture their penis, as picked up recently by Mic.

A few of you will have winced having stumbled, unsuspectingly, across those words. The idea of anyone snapping part of a male member in two is definitely a cringe-worthy thought, but actually, few people actually understand what a penis fracture actually is.

As explained with visual resplendence by the UK’s National Health Service, “if the penis is violently twisted when erect, it can break. There are no bones in the penis, but the tubes that fill with blood during an erection [the so-called corporeal bodies] can burst.” Any such rupture will cause blood to cascade from the penis, and the wound will rapidly and painfully swell up.

This, of course, doesn’t sound ideal. So how, good sir, do you stop this happening in the first place, you ask? Well, it’s best not to bend your penis too much. Certainly don’t fall on it, and try not to let your partner sit quite forcefully on it with anything other than the desired orifice.

You will probably be unsurprised that, although penis fractures are rarely reported, those that are are mostly down to the partner on top being somewhat overzealous or impatient. In fact, up to a third of cases are down to the inaction of the partner on top; as for the other two-thirds, it’s anyone’s guess.

If you are one of the unfortunate few to snap their penis, the only solution is surgery, and as you might expect, the sooner the better. So in short, if you’re worried, improve your aim, or don’t trip over in the dark.