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Pollen, birds, bees and bunnies have historically been a convenient way for teachers to avoid the embarrassment of candid descriptions of human sexual activity in the classroom, and nowhere has the euphemistic device been employed to such enchanting effect as in Mary Field's The Mystery of Marriage. Comparisons are drawn between the elaborate courtship and marriage rituals of animals and plants and that of humans: a bumblebee acts as a matchmaker between flowers; the hunting spider painstakingly wraps up a juicy fly ready to bestow upon the first attractive female he meets; the devoted earwig fends off intruders with a nasty nip - even mould is shown as having particular romantic preference as it spans its spindly filaments in search of the perfect partner. When it comes to the human species, a field study of a young couple frolicking outdoors infers that a good dose of fresh country air followed by a prolonged kiss beside a haystack are the vital ingredients in the production of children - the mystery of marriage solved?! Katy McGahan
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1. The secret of attraction (3:11)
