1. “During sex, I used to just go as fast and as hard as I could. And it’s not like that’s bad, I don’t think. But it was a year or two before I found out you can get the job done while ‘making love,’ so to speak.” —Curtis, 27
2. “Making a woman orgasm is tricky sometimes. I thought it just happened every time. I just assumed it would happen, like real easy.” —Tyler, 27
3. “[When I first started having sex,] I didn’t realize that I was having, like, the worst sex ever for 2 1/2 years. To be fair, the girl I lost my virginity to I dated for, like, three years. Neither of us had had sex before and she was pretty shy, so it was, like, 2 1/2 years of standard missionary. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess that’s how it works.’ I knew doggy was a thing but she was all, ‘Don’t look at my butt hole.'” —Devin, 26
4. “I found out pretty late that squirting is maybe pee, apparently? So I guess some dudes are just steady getting pissed on when they have sex. I guess I found out pretty late too that it’s also actually a fetish to get pissed on. That never came to me organically.” —Zack, 28
5. “How much sex fluids just get everywhere.” —Adam, 31
6. “The smell of sex. I don’t think anyone realizes … It’s not a bad smell. But I don’t think you realize that there’s definitely an odor and it’s a very specific odor. And your parents knew. They knew when you were fooling around. They know the smell of sex. I just freaked myself out talking about this. Can I be done?” —Ethan, 27
7. “I found out really late that butt holes taste like a penny.” —Ryan, 29
8. “Going down on a woman … tastes fine now. But I was not prepared for it earlier on. I guess how I thought it would taste was just a lot different.” —Connor, 25
9. “I learned the hard way that even though sex is usually great, awkward, drunken hookups are essentially not worth the effort and might make you more sad and lonely than if you weren’t sexing a person.” —Sam, 28
10. “I’m going to be completely transparent and tell you that I still don’t entirely understand female anatomy. I know where the clitoris is, and I know where the hole is. I bet there’s a less gross-sounding term than ‘the hole’ but I wouldn’t know what that term is for the life of me. I don’t even know where the pee comes out.” —Michael, 25
11. “I still don’t know how to put on a condom gracefully.” —Tyler, 24