Karosta Prison Hotel, Latvia

Built around 1900, the Karosta Prison was initially used as an infirmary then converted into a prison. It's history was so gruesome, even the solitary confinement room featured a cryptic message above the door: ‘izeja no elles’, Latvian for ‘exit from hell’.
 

Not exactly a relaxing vacation: Inside the hotel converted from a prison where guests are punished with physical exercise for the full 'inmate experience.'

I must admit the idea appeals to me but after I saw the photo's of male guards I quickly changed my mind. If only the prison was staffed with female officers...

Research Shows: Kink is Good for You

More research on the positive aspects and health benefits of BDSM.

According to new research from the Netherlands (where else?), the psychological profile of people who participate in bdsm is "characterized by a set of balanced, autonomous, and beneficial personality characteristics.” Compared to those who engage in more mainstream sexual behavior, such aficionados report “a higher level of subjective well-being.”

Knight in shining armour

How Many Kinky People Are There?

Never enough

For a long time I have been wondering how many kinky people there are in the world. Just out of curiosity. Google cannot answer my question. I am still wondering though. So here is my theory: if you are kinky and have a Facebook account, you also have a Fetlife account.

The embodiment of kinky: The Addams Family

According to their own site Facebook has 1.15 billion monthly active users as of June 2013. I cannot find a good estimate for the number of active Fetlife users but on their site they boast 2,264,946 member (August 2013). If you divide 2.2 million by 1.2 billion you have an upper limit of 0.4 per cent of the global population being kinksters. But as they say in Dutchland: that is comparing apples and pears. Unfortunately I cannot find the numbers right now but there are several statistics claiming the number of active users on Fetlife varies between 250,000 and 500,000. If we assume the correct number is 500,000 about 0.04 per cent of all people in the world is kinky which makes for 2.8 million of us. A rounding error creeps in right away. If that number is correct over three quarters of all kinky people are on Fetlife. That sounds like a lot.

Breaking down the statistics for Dutchland with about 17 million people it would mean there are 17mln * 0.04% = 6800 kinksters living in that beautiful flat country. That does not sound right, does it? The Netherlands must be more into kink than that. If anyone knows of a better estimate, please let me know.

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