August 29, 2007 | Sex Life

Birth of the blowjob

Blowjobs. They keep us up at night. No, we're not talking about getting them. Nor planning on how to get them. It's the term itself. Where did it come from? Unless you know something we don't know, there really isn't much blowing involved. So what gives?

The Internet has been useless to say the least. And it's not something we can call 411 -- the information line -- about. Ma and pa? They'd faint if we asked.

We know we're not alone in this. So we did some digging, and this is what we found...

One popular story dates the origin of this interesting term back to the 1890s. London policemen used to wear long phallic-like whistles about their necks. When they would approach prostitutes, the woman would finger the cop's whistle suggestively and offer to blow it in exchange for a little leniency. This was eventually shortened to "blow job."

 
Practice makes perfect!

According to Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, however, the term was an invention of the 1940s. It started as "basket job" -- basket being a gay reference to the cock and balls -- and in time shifted to "blowjob" based upon the actual appearance of the act.

The truth? We really can't be sure. We expected a little more information considering the act itself has existed for a very long time. 

 
Giving blue balls a whole new meaning.

In the Kama Sutra, for example, the act was called Auparishtaka and was usually performed by eunuchs. The eunuchs who chose to appear as women would act as prostitutes, earning their livelihood from providing oral sex. Eunuchs dressed as men, however, had a bit more of a challenge ahead of them.

Under the pretence of shampooing, a eunuch of this kind embraces and draws towards himself the thighs of the man whom he is shampooing, and after this he touches the joints of his thighs and his jaghana, or central portions of his body. Then, if he finds the lingam of the man erect, he presses it with his hands and chaffs him for getting into that state. If after this, and after knowing his intention, the man does not tell the eunuch to proceed, then the latter does it of his own accord and begins the congress. If however he is ordered by the man to do it, then he disputes with him, and only consents at last with difficulty.

This certainly offers another meaning to the term blowdry...

The trick is to love what you're doing, giving or receiving.

Two interesting modern myths have developed around this simple act. One involves an advertisement from the University of Toronto, where tests were being conducted to determine the affects of semen on human speech. Male volunteers were offered $145 to receive fellatio. Sadly there were no tests and no science sanctioned sucking.

The second myth includes chewing on a couple Altoids before slipping your lips around your partners appendage. Apparently the powerful little mints improve the oral experience for the recipient by offering a warm tingling sensation. We're willing to try this one out for the sake of scientific research!

Still, none of this helps explain the term itself. It's probably one of those things we will never figure out. But, in truth, does it matter in the end? A blowjob by any other name - sucking off, rolling cigars, giving head, and lolly-gagging -- would feel just as good.

Unless she's giving it...

How NOT to give a blow job!