Toys for big kids

According to a recent study, vibrator use is on the rise. Researchers Michael Reece and Debra Herbenick along with colleagues from Indiana University (and a researcher from Trojan condoms) recently published two studies on vibrator use in the Journal of Sexual Medicine and one of the findings was that 52% of women and 45% of men report having ever used a vibrator. The studies involved just over 2,000 women and 1,000 men in the US. According to Cory Silverberg, co-owner of Toronto-based sex shop Come As You Are, this is much higher than the numbers they've come up with.

According to the study, women reported using vibrators most during masturbation (46%) and least during intercourse (37%). Men were most likely to use vibrators with a partner during sex play or foreplay (40%). Only 17% of men reported using a vibrator for masturbation. The paper on men reported on reasons for first using a vibrator, and the most common one men gave (67%) was for fun. 40% of men said they used one to help a partner with orgasms, and 7% said they used it to help themselves to have an orgasm.

If you're one among the statistic who hasn't tried a vibrator, some advice for getting in on the fun:

Before you go shelling big money, try a more inexpensive model first to make sure you even like the idea of a toy.

Another thing to consider is power. Women who can reach orgasm from manual stimulation or are easily orgasmic will be fine with a model that takes two AA batteries. If orgasm is more difficult for you, you might consider something stronger or even a plug-in.

If you want a good buzz and don't necessarily want penetration, try and egg-shaped vibrator sometimes called Silver Bullets or Mini-Pearls.

I'm not a big fan of vibrators that look like real sex organs. They creep me out.

Don't make the mistake a lot of guys make: Just because they'd like to have a really big penis doesn't mean his girlfriend does.

And finally, be careful. Another study out of the University of Alabama School of Public Health did a survey of sex toy injuries between 1995 and 2006 about found that 6799 people aged 20 and up were treated in U.S. emergency departments for sex toy injuries!