A new kind of spectator sport will soon arrive in Los Angeles. A startup has raised $1 million to launch sperm racing. Yes, spermatozoa will shake their tales to the finish line in front of an audience of 1,000 fans.
"We've designed a microscopic racetrack that mimics the reproductive system—chemical signals, fluid dynamics, synchronized starts," Sperm Racing co-founder Eric Zhu writes in a "manifesto." "High-resolution cameras track every microscopic move. it's all live-streamed, complete with stats, leaderboards, and instant replays."
If this sounds like a publicity stunt, that's because it kinda is. The event is, in part, meant to call attention to the decline in global sperm counts over the past several decades. Studies show over a 50% drop since the 1970s, and the trend is accelerating worldwide. This decline is linked to a mix of factors including exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, unhealthy lifestyles, pollution, and heat exposure. The issue has major implications not just for fertility, but also as a broader indicator of men's health and potential population challenges.
If this first competition is successful, perhaps sperm racing will, er, come to your town next.
Previously:
• Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than ever
• Sperm donor with 550 children sued for increasing risk of accidental incest
• It's ok for dead men to donate sperm, according to medical ethics study
• Court permits 62-year-old woman to extract sperm from dead husband to make a baby
• Dead soldiers in Israel can now posthumously donate their sperm
