At the end of April, most of you probably saw the viral video, purporting to show a sperm race. It was striking, visually arresting, and very shareable.
News organisations scrambled to come up with clever titles, including the Daily Mail (World’s First Sperm Race Goes Off With a Bang in LA), Decrypt (Two Guys, One Track), and the New York Post, which wrote on Facebook, “This time, it’s good to finish fast. “
Spectators, mainly Gen Z, watched as the high-resolution visuals showcased the race, complete with leaderboards, a Jumbotron, ring girls in white miniskirts, commentary, and Polymarket even took bets.
But, it did not take long after the race was over for people to start asking questions. Experts came out with opposing opinions, and it seemed like there was more to the story.
Well, there was!
The Truth
The event, organised by 17-year-old entrepreneur Eric Zhu, promised a live competition between sperm samples collected from two college students.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, he described the process, which involved a change of venue due to liability issues and Live Nation’s objection to “kids jerking off in the green room.”
However, this was more likely an objection to the organisers’ wanting to show a ‘live sample collection’ and take bets.
“Let’s just say we have these guys jerking off like 10 or 20 minutes. Then the integrity of the race is kind of fucked, because the cleaning process for sperm takes about an hour, if that makes sense. So we wanted them to do it in the green room to make it so that it’s, you know, fresh, basically.”
After some questions were raised, it did not take long for people to realize that the event’s ‘live’ designation wasn’t delivered. They would soon learn that the clean visuals of sperm swimming were computer-generated.
Questionable Claims
Zhu insisted that the CGI followed the real sperm movements, but critics questioned the authenticity, pointing out that it is really hard to get sperm to run in a straight-ish line like that.
Several journalists would later confirm that the race had already happened before the official event began. The results were then represented using CGI to be easier to watch and more fun.
Sperm Under a Microscope Are Boring To Watch
According to the team behind it, the event was aimed at drawing attention to male reproductive health and the global decline in male fertility. Studies have shown more than a 50% drop in sperm counts over the past 50 years, attributed to lifestyle choices and environmental pollution.
Science may be changing its mind on the 2017 study that kicked the male infertility story into high gear, but global demographics tell a more nuanced story.
While the event did not succeed in being ‘live’ or showing real sperm, we are talking about it, and that is something. Right?
