If you’re into rough sex, you’re definitely not alone.

When I surveyed more than 4,000 Americans about their sexual fantasies for my book Tell Me What You Want, rough sex turned out to be one of the two most common things people had fantasized about. Most people—regardless of gender and sexual orientation—appear to have been turned on by the idea at some point.

The widespread appeal of rough sex can also be seen in people’s porn-viewing habits. For example, when you look at the most-viewed genres on Pornhub, “rough sex” and “hardcore” pretty consistently appear in the top third of categories year in and year out. Interestingly, women are even more likely to view this kind of porn than are men.

So why is rough sex arousing to so many people, and especially to women?

A recent study published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science offers some answers.

Researchers surveyed 734 college students in New York about their attitudes toward and experiences with consensual rough sex. Most of the students identified as female (77%) and as heterosexual (92%).

A majority of the sample (51%) said they had engaged in rough sex before, with the most frequently reported rough sex behaviours including scratching, spanking, pushing, name-calling, tearing clothes, tying up, blindfolding, and slapping.

Before we go further, I should note that the authors of this study talk about these behaviours as “playful force” rather than as abuse or violence. Keep in mind that these are consensual behaviours that, more often than not, occurred in the context of a long-term relationship and rarely (less than 1% of the time) resulted in any kind of serious injury. In other words, we aren’t talking about behaviours where people truly wanted or tried to hurt a partner.

In fact, people seemed to really be enjoying this kind of sex. When asked to compare how rough sex differs from “typical sex,” both men and women said that orgasms are more frequent and intense, partners make more effort to satisfy one another, the sex is more arousing, and the thrusting is more vigorous.

Plus, women said that they orgasm much faster when they have rough sex. Given that there’s already a fairly big disparity in how long it takes men and women to reach orgasm (5-6 minutes vs. 13 minutes, respectively), perhaps this is one reason rough sex is so widely desired and why women search for it more than men when viewing porn: Rough sex just might help to close the orgasm gap.

Beyond these enhancing effects on orgasm, what else might draw people to rough sex?

Participants in this study were given a long list of potential triggers of rough sex and asked to report whether they’d ever been prompted to have rough sex for each reason.

Among the most common triggers were trying something new, boredom, and playing out a fantasy. This tells us that rough sex is often just about feeding our need for sexual novelty. Humans—men and women alike—have a tendency to grow tired of sexual routines. We need to keep mixing things up in order to maintain sexual excitement, a phenomenon sex researchers refer to as the Coolidge Effect.

Another common trigger for rough sex, especially among men, was having been separated from one’s partner, as well as suspecting that one’s partner may have cheated. The authors of this study interpret these results through the same evolutionary lens: When men perceive a risk that their female partner has had sex with someone else, this triggers sperm competition. In other words, it leads men to engage in sexual behaviours—like deep and vigorous thrusting—aimed at displacing any semen that may have been deposited by rival men so that their own sperm have a better shot at fertilization.

Drinking alcohol was another common trigger, which makes sense: Alcohol simultaneously lowers sexual inhibitions and dulls sexual sensations. This combination of factors ups the odds of trying something you might not otherwise do while sober, while also experimenting with more intense activities in order to counteract the depressing effect that alcohol has on our sexual system (which includes suppressing arousal and delaying orgasm).

Lastly, the other major set of triggers included situations where people were already in a heightened state of physiological arousals, such as after a fight, being angry at one’s partner, and having just exercised. These triggers can be explained by something psychologists call excitation transfer, which occurs when carryover arousal from one situation amplifies our arousal or excitement in an unrelated situation. In other words, if your body is already amped up at the start of a sexual encounter, that’s going to lay the groundwork for pursuing a more active and intense experience.

What all of this tells us is that there isn’t just one reason why rough sex is such a popular sexual fantasy and porn theme. Instead, it turns out that there are a lot of different factors that draw people to it.

The key thing to take away from this is that rough sex appears to be a normative sexual interest and we need to be very careful to distinguish it from sexual violence and relationship abuse. Rough sex is not exploitative—it is consensual and the people who have it are reporting an intense, mutually enjoyable experience.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage this September, nobody expected the shocking news he was about to deliver. He unveiled the new iPhone 11—the most advanced phone Apple has ever made.

But it was not the triple-lens camera and lustrous finishes that stole the show. It was the phone’s price tag.

For the first time ever, Apple cut its iPhone price. As I’ll explain, Apple made this move out of desperation, and it may well spell the end of Apple’s run as a dominant company.

Apple Is a Phone Company

Let’s get one thing straight. Apple is not a computer company anymore. Apple is a phone company.

Since it introduced the iPhone in 2007, Apple has sold 2.2 billion phones raking in over a trillion dollars in sales—more than any other phone maker in history. Meanwhile, Apple stock shot up over 2,037% and became the world’s largest publicly traded company.

iPhone Is Apple’s Golden Goose

Apple has earned a whopping $1.99 trillion since 2007. The thing is, more than half of it came from iPhone sales. iPhone is not only Apple’s best-selling product by far. It’s also the company’s most profitable product.

For every dollar an iPhone brings into the company, Apple earns $0.60–0.74, according to PhoneArena. Compare that to the MacBook Air—Apple’s most profitable notebook—which earns a mere $0.29 on the dollar.

If it weren’t for the iPhone, Apple wouldn’t be where it is today. Without the iPhone, Apple would be a mediocre computer company like Dell at best.

iPhone Sales Stalled Out

For years, iPhone revenues have sprinted higher at an exponential pace. But in 2015, Apple reached an inflection point. The growth of its iPhone sales has died out, as you can see below:

Last year, Apple sold 14 million fewer phones than it did three years ago. That’s not unusual, though.

When Apple unveiled the first iPhone, the smartphone was groundbreaking technology. The typical lifecycle of a groundbreaking technology looks like this: Sales skyrocket out of the gate, then flatten out as the market matures, and finally take an inevitable downturn.

Twelve years ago, only 120 million people had a cell phone. Today, over five billion people own a smartphone, according to IDC.

Apple Found a Way to Extend the iPhone Lifecycle

As I wrote earlier, Apple has found a masterful way to extend iPhone’s prime time. The company raised iPhone prices to offset slowing sales and keep its revenue figures growing.

Think about it, in 2010, you could buy a brand-new iPhone 4 for $599. In 2017, you would have had to fork over $849 for the iPhone 8 and $1,149 for the iPhone X, Apple’s most expensive phone.

The price hikes kept Apple’s growth engine alive… and for this reason, its revenues have gone on marching higher since 2011. But there was also another reason Apple was forced to hike its phone prices…

iPhones Are More Expensive for Apple, Too

Take a close look at the chart below. It shows how much it costs for Apple to make an iPhone…

For every dollar an iPhone brings into the company, Apple earns $0.60–0.74, according to PhoneArena. Compare that to the MacBook Air—Apple’s most profitable notebook—which earns a mere $0.29 on the dollar.

If it weren’t for the iPhone, Apple wouldn’t be where it is today. Without the iPhone, Apple would be a mediocre computer company like Dell at best.

iPhone Sales Stalled Out

For years, iPhone revenues have sprinted higher at an exponential pace. But in 2015, Apple reached an inflection point. The growth of its iPhone sales has died out, as you can see below:

Last year, Apple sold 14 million fewer phones than it did three years ago. That’s not unusual, though.

When Apple unveiled the first iPhone, the smartphone was groundbreaking technology. The typical lifecycle of a groundbreaking technology looks like this: Sales skyrocket out of the gate, then flatten out as the market matures, and finally take an inevitable downturn.

Twelve years ago, only 120 million people had a cell phone. Today, over five billion people own a smartphone, according to IDC.

Apple Found a Way to Extend the iPhone Lifecycle

As I wrote earlier, Apple has found a masterful way to extend iPhone’s prime time. The company raised iPhone prices to offset slowing sales and keep its revenue figures growing.

Think about it, in 2010, you could buy a brand-new iPhone 4 for $599. In 2017, you would have had to fork over $849 for the iPhone 8 and $1,149 for the iPhone X, Apple’s most expensive phone.

The price hikes kept Apple’s growth engine alive… and for this reason, its revenues have gone on marching higher since 2011. But there was also another reason Apple was forced to hike its phone prices…

iPhones Are More Expensive for Apple, Too

Take a close look at the chart below. It shows how much it costs for Apple to make an iPhone…

With the exception of a few years, the cost of making an iPhone has been climbing higher since 2007. The first iPhone cost Apple just above $200 to make. Meanwhile, iPhone XS (the latest iPhone Apple reported on) costs double that.

Apple has always set records with its phone prices. But as you can see, it did it for a reason. It had to offset the ever-growing costs. And as I warned my readers before, it was just a matter of time before Apple had to pull back with its pricing. It didn’t take long.

iPhone Has a New Feature: Lower Prices

Last September, Apple unveiled iPhone XR, a less advanced and more affordable version of the iPhone X. It cost $749, a 35% drop from the iPhone X’s $1,145 price tag. But in truth, it was almost the same iPhone X, only disguised as a budget phone. It was basically an excuse for Apple to release a cheaper phone to get its sales figures back on track.

This year, Apple went a step further. It slashed the price of its full-fledged iPhone. The newly released iPhone 11 started at $699, a price point not seen since 2017.

Apple did it as a last resort to spur lackluster demand. But in doing so, it has signaled the beginning of the end of its lucrative iPhone business.

The End of Apple

See what’s happening? Not only is Apple selling fewer iPhones, it’s now earning much less on each one.

Recent financial reports show that iPhone revenues—which have been Apple’s lifeblood—are starting to sink. Last quarter, Apple earned 10% less from iPhones than it did during the same period last year. That’s a loss of about $20 billion!

Apple has never earned so little from iPhones, and all this will start showing up in Apple’s financial reports very soon.

Let me make it clear: half of Apple’s business is going off the rails, and there’s no turning back.

While Apple admits the demise of iPhone and is looking into new business directions, these things don’t happen overnight. Meanwhile, Apple’s money-making machine is grinding to a halt.

As I warned you earlier this year, Apple is a ticking time bomb. And for this reason, I’d recommend staying away from this stock.

Lip colour can also vary from person to person, just like skin tone. No shade of skin on the lips is healthier than any other or superior in anyway. However, a change in the colour or condition could indicate that your lips need extra care.

There are a number of causes of dark lips
1. Increased exposure to the sun causes an increase in production of melanin in your skin. This exposure causes pigmentation, which could lead to dark lips.

2. Certain products like toothpaste, lipstick, etc, may cause an allergic reaction on an individual which may also cause hyperpigmentation in your lips.

3. Melanosis, a major cause of dark lips caused by excessive smoking. This is a pigmentation issue common among smokers.

Here are some ways to lighten your lips

Coconut oil. Using your fingertip, take a very small amount of coconut oil and gently apply it evenly over your lips. You can do this multiple times during the day and also before you go to sleep at night.

• Olive oil. Before bed, massage a few drops of olive oil onto your lips.
• Lemon juice is well-known for its ability to lighten skin. Rub a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice on your lips before bed each night. Rinse off in the morning with warm water. Also, in order to make it more nourishing, you can mix lemon and honey together and apply it to your lips at night.
• Cucumber juice. In a blender, juice half a cucumber. Cool the juice in the refrigerator. Once the juice is cool, dip a cotton ball into it and use the cotton ball to gently apply the juice onto your lips. Leave the cucumber juice on your lips for about 30 minutes, then rinse off with cool water.
• Pomegranates can help to restore the natural colour of your lips. Crush a tablespoon of pomegranate seeds and then mix with milk to create a thick paste. Rub the paste onto your lips and rinse it off after 2-3 minutes. Discontinue if irritation occurs
• Strawberry. Make a paste by mixing together five crushed, medium-sized strawberries and 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Gently apply this paste to your lips at bedtime, then rinse off with cool water the next morning
• Potatoes contain “catecholase,” a naturally occurring enzyme that is best known for reducing darkness and the appearance of scars. Rub a slice of potato on your lips before bedtime. Wash your lips with warm water in the morning.