8 Basic Functions That Humans Totally Fail At

To have and to hold until death do us part, right? Well, no.

Despite our love of a good wedding, humans are naturally pretty bad at monogamy on the whole, hence why marriage is commonly seen as something that one has to "work at". With 40-50% of marriages ending in divorce, and infidelity the leading cause of the break-up, it looks like we're just not built for it.

Studies show that sexual desire dips off after just a few years of monogamy, and women are much quicker and more likely to lose interest than men. The idea that women traditionally aren't interested in sex is not quite right, it actually comes from the fact that women are less interested in sex with the same person. 

Back in the good old days, early man enjoyed a much more free and easy attitude to sex and relationships and it is thought that even parenting was shared. There is even a theory that female vocalisations during sex act as a sort of mating call for any other interested males that fancy a bonk. Men too, bear the signs of wild polyamory, with the unique shape of the penis designs to scoop out any previous males', er, leavings. 

Then why do we do it? Well, the whole monogamy thing, coupled with the no-sex-before-marriage convention is a really good way of preventing the spread of disease. So good, in fact, that it has been woven into most major moral codes, with sexual purity inextricably linked with "cleanliness". Now it is a central part of our cultural customs, and if there's one thing the human race loves, it's a cultural custom.