X is for X Chromosome: 18 Interesting Facts About Women

Cartoon from Helentoons.com

A few years back, Baby Girl made her grand entrance on Mother’s Day. She definitely added a lot of punch and verve to the first part of May for our family.

In honor of Baby Girl, mothers, and the “X” in the A-Z Blog Challenge, we’re equating the X chromosome with females today. Let’s celebrate some Girl Power! All of you males with moms, wives and sisters can celebrate along with us.

Here’s 18 varied and interesting facts about women**:

General

• The word “woman” is believed to have derived from the Middle English term wyfman, broken down simply as the wife (wyf) of man. In Old English, women were described simply as wyf, while the term man was used to describe a human person, regardless of gender.
• The English word “girl” was initially used to describe a young person of either sex. It was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that the term was used specifically to describe a female child. (Fascinating stuff!)
• The biological sign for the female sex, a circle placed on top of a small cross, is also the symbol for the planet Venus.
• The English language originally delineated between women in different stages of life with the terms “maiden,” “mother,” and “crone.” A maiden referred to a young girl who was unmarried, a mother referred to a woman in her child-bearing years, and a crone described a post-menopausal woman. (I sooooo love the word, “crone!”)

Biological

• The average height of a woman in the U.S. is approximately 5 feet 4 inches, and the average weight is about 163 pounds. (I find this sad considering that the “ideal” for most women is to be 30-40 pounds less than that.)
• There are roughly four million more women than men in the U.S. (This completely explains some of the dating issues we’ve discussed here at More Cowbell.)
• The most common cause of death for American women is heart disease, which causes just over 27% of all mortalities in females. Cancer ranks just below, causing 22% of female deaths.
• The probability of a woman giving birth to a baby girl instead of a baby boy increases significantly the nearer the mother lives to the equator. While the cause of this gender selection is unknown, scientists believe the constant sunlight hours and abundant food supply in tropical regions may favor female births.

Historical

• The first Mother’s Day was held on May 10, 1908, and was organized by Anna Jarvis in West Virginia and Philadelphia. Congress designated the second Sunday in May as a national day of recognition for mothers in 1914.
• International Women’s Day is held each year on March 8. The annual event was first observed worldwide in 1909.
• Approximately 14% of active members in the U.S. armed forces today are women. (Thank you, Ladies!!) In 1950, women comprised less than 2% of the U.S. military.
• The first female governor of a U.S. state was Wyoming governor Nellie Tayloe Ross, elected in 1924. Wyoming was also the first state to give women the right to vote, enacting women’s suffrage in 1869.
• The first country to grant women the right to vote in the modern era was New Zealand in 1893.
• According to an ancient Sumerian legend, the universe was created by a female, the goddess Tiamat. This role of a female creator is not unique, as the Australian Aboriginal creation myth also credits the creation of life to a woman.

Sexual

• The record for the most female orgasms is 134 in one hour. (That’s what I’m talkin’ about!)
• Because there is an increase in blood circulation around the genitals during a woman’s period, she may experience more powerful orgasms during this time. Click here to see the incredible post August McLaughlin did about the other benefits of the female cycle.
• The word “clitoris” is Greek for “divine and goddess like.” The clitoris is present only in female mammals. It is actually approximately 4 inches long, with 3/4 of the clitoris extending inside a female’s body.
• Women are capable of having different types of orgasms, depending on the stimulation. The clitoral orgasm is the most commonly known, often the most powerful, and the most often achieved. The second type is a vaginal orgasm. The third kind is a blended orgasm, or when a woman’s vagina and clitoris are simultaneously stimulated. Some women can also have an orgasm through kissing, nipple stimulation, or simply pressing their legs together.

**These facts came from Random Facts (I love that place!).

What else do you know about women? I’ll take all of it – be it interesting, funny, unique or sad (I left most of the sad facts out of this post). Are there things about women that have surprised or inspired you? Enquiring minds always  want to know here at More Cowbell!

Jenny