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Man and woman had sex in MRI scan machine to show what really happens to body

Home> News> Science

Updated 17:02 5 Jan 2026 GMTPublished 16:14 5 Jan 2026 GMT

Man and woman had sex in MRI scan machine to show what really happens to body

It helped change a 500-year-old belief

James Moorhouse

James Moorhouse

If you've ever wondered what it would look like if two people have sex inside a MRI machine, then you've come to the right place.

Ida Sabelis and her boyfriend Jupp decided to put that age-old question to the test by hooking up inside the machine in the name of science.

Their friend, Dutch scientist Menko Victor ‘Pek’ van Andel, had set out to uncover what happens inside our bodies when we have sex.

Thankfully, this was back in 1991 when metallic and magnetic sex toys were far more of a luxury, so there were no unfortunate accidents inside the machine, and both adults came out unharmed - if not a little squished.

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Things were certainly a little claustrophobic inside the machine, so some of the more modern positions might not have been possible, with even the old-fashioned missionary position not possible due to a lack of space, and a lack of arousal on Ida's part.

Ever wondered what would happen if you got down and dirty in one of these things? (Getty Stock Image)
Ever wondered what would happen if you got down and dirty in one of these things? (Getty Stock Image)

Instead, the couple opted for the spooning position, and before you dismiss it as a silly science experiment, the images that were later created actually helped to change a lot of people's minds about what happens to the body during sex.

Their images became the centre of a hugely popular British Medical Journal entry in 1999, which is still read by thousands of people every month, as people who think science is sexy are no doubt forced to get creative in the wake of the UK's new porn crackdown.

Ida was recently interviewed on the What Was It Like podcast, where she shared more about her experience and admitted that she had no idea the impact the experiment would have.

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“This was one of the first MRI machines ever, so taking the photos took some time,” she told the host.

I'll let you decipher what's going on here (BMJ)
I'll let you decipher what's going on here (BMJ)

“There was a command from the control room to keep in position for, I don’t know, a minute.

“So it was hilarious in that sense.”

Although many men and women might struggle to perform in front of someone else, let alone several scientists while literally inside a very small machine, the images created by Ida and Jupp showed those in the medical industry that the vaginal canal was, in fact, curved.

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“Jupp and I wriggled into that machine and started doing our thing,” she shared.

It led to a significant discovery (BMJ)
It led to a significant discovery (BMJ)

“It wasn’t romantic, it was more like an act of love and a performance.

“Thankfully we didn’t get claustrophobic.”

The couple, who are still together to this day, were more focused on how cute they 'fit together', but a lot of credit must go to both for teaching the world more about the body, as it revealed that the man's penis bends to fit the shape of the woman's vaginal canal.

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This was in direct contrast to a painting from Leonardo da Vinci, which had left people believing that the vagina was a straight cylinder for more than 500 years.

Featured Image Credit: BMJ

Topics: Science, Health

James Moorhouse
James Moorhouse

James is a NCTJ Gold Standard journalist covering a wide range of topics and news stories for LADbible. After two years in football writing, James switched to covering news with Newsquest in Cumbria, before joining the LAD team in 2025. In his spare time, James is a long-suffering Rochdale fan and loves reading, running and music. Contact him via [email protected]

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@JimmyMoorhouse

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