While putting on my makeup, Julie wandered into my bathroom walking like a penguin. I thought it might actually be fun so we each bought a pair of little silver balls and headed home to shower. Julie demanded we buy some and wear them in celebration of my birthday.

More: 11 clitoris facts you’ll think about the next time you have sex They can also be used to help strengthen your pelvic floor since you have to stay sort of, well, clenched to keep them in. They bang around in there and cause stimulation. Ben Wa balls are little metal balls that you insert in your vagina. I laughed when she asked me about them because, yeah, I knew what they were.

The book did mention, however, something called “Ben Wa balls.” She’d just read Fifty Shades of Grey, which unfortunately gave her a skewed view on what she had to look forward to in the dating world. My friend Julie wasn’t familiar with sex toys, so I did my best to show her around.