New details have emerged on the couple who had sex in an MRI machine – finally revealing what happens to our bodies during the deed. Warning: Graphic.
A woman who had sex in an MRI machine has spoken out about how the X-rated act that ultimately changed the understanding of female anatomy forever.
Ida Sabelis and her boyfriend Jupp had sexual intercourse in an MRI machine in the name of science back in 1991.
Ida and Jupp got physical inside the medical device after their friend, Dutch scientist Menko Victor ‘Pek’ van Andel, set out to uncover what happens inside our bodies when we have sex.
The images generated were the first of their kind, and became the centre point of a hugely popular British Medical Journal entry in 1999.
The comprehensive study is still read by thousands of people every month.
While their lovemaking session happened over 30 years ago, Ida recently gave an insightful interview on the What Was It Like podcast, revealing she had no idea it would lead to a remarkable discovery about women’s bodies.
This MRI scan led to a remarkable discovery about women’s bodies. Picture:
“This was one of the first MRI machines ever, so taking the photos took some time,” she told the host.
“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.”
Ida, a professor of organisational anthropology at Amsterdam’s Vrije University, said initially the plan was to get the images while in the missionary position, but explained due to the size of the machine it was impossible.
“Jupp and I wriggled into that machine and started doing our thing,” she shared.
“It wasn’t romantic, it was more like an act of love and a performance.
“Thankfully we didn’t get claustrophobic.”
In 1991, a couple had sex in an MRI machine, and the results changed the medical industry. Picture: BMJ
Ida previously described how she’d taken part in the experiment as she was a big campaigner of women’s rights and was keen to help broaden the understanding of female bodies in medicine.
“When I saw them [the images] it was just like, ‘aww that’s how we fit together’,” she told Vice in 2019.
She also explained how the couple, who are still together in 2025, had sex in a spooning position because missionary “is a position that for me produces hardly any arousal”.
Not long ago, Vice shared the incredible story on TikTok, including the extraordinary images.
The clip left many in awe at the “wild” measures they took to get the snaps, with many noting it was mind-boggling the medical industry didn’t realise the vaginal canal was curved only 24 years ago.
It ended the long-running belief that a man’s penis went in straight and came straight out, as depicted in the famous Leonardo da Vinci drawing. Picture: BMJ
It had been a long-running belief that a man’s penis went in straight and came straight out, with early depictions including the famous Leonardo da Vinci drawing from the 1492 showing the vagina as a straight cylinder.
But the MRI showed “the penis was the shape of a boomerang”, meaning it bends inside to the shape of the woman’s body, without any pain to the man during his erection.
The discovery was huge, leading to a formal study conducted between 1991 and 1999 by Ida and Pek, the results of which were published in the BMJ.
These subsequent experiments were all done in the missionary position, using volunteers above the age of 18 who could quit at any moment.
No one did, but Ida pointed out no one other than her and Jupp were able to complete the test without using Viagra.
She described the process as ‘hilarious’ in a new podcast interview. Picture: BMJ
Despite the fact it was published on December 24, 1999, the paper was one of the medical journal’s “most popular articles of all time” and was even honoured by BMJ on its 20th anniversary in 2019.
And even though the initial experiment occurred over 30 years ago, the photos are still incredibly powerful, with TikTok users still curious about one particular detail.
“OK but like how is there space,” one asked.
“I’ve been in an MRI machine 4 times. Do you guys know how loud it is?” another remarked.
As one said: “How the hell did 2 people fit in an MRI machine? I’ve found that they’re really narrow tunnels and very restrictive.”
Ida addressed this on the podcast, noting the big magnets are “very, very loud”, but that the pair managed to get the job done.
Social media users have branded the story “insane” and declared they were “so glad” they’d seen the video.
“I genuinely don’t know how I feel about this information, but. thank you?” one teased.
“This is honestly wild,” another agreed
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