X-Rated Stories in the Stars: 'sex, murder and bestiality'

The night skies are brimming with tales of sex, murder and bestiality. You can’t look around on a clear evening without bumping into seduction by swans, bear on bear love, forbidden trysts or golden showers. The ancient Greeks just couldn’t get enough of it.

This is all a bit of a problem for Edinburgh Royal Observatory staff when they try to relay the stories about the constellations to their usual audience of very young children, and have to carefully leave out the more interesting parts or incur the wrath of vengeful parents. No more! An evolving show, X-Rated Stories in the Stars, was a cathartic opportunity for the Observatory staff to finally get to tell the “X-Rated” stories to an adult audience with a complementary glass of wine for everyone thrown into the bargain.

For all the adult elements of some of the stories, the presentation was still a cheeky overview of the heavens and what to look for rather than anything too shocking, and was more restrained than it could have been. It could have made more of the lurid and sensational nature of some of the stories for a bit of added showmanship.

However, the demonstrators were genuinely enthusiastic about the topics, and the educational aspects were fascinating, worthwhile and mercifully free of any editing for the sake of children. Harmless fun all in all, and certainly something the Royal Observatory should consider doing more of.

The presentation was part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, which this year includes a series of adult-orientated events and lectures on subjects such as sex, attraction and the science of pleasure.