The New York Times ran a frontpage investigative report on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders‘ early political history on July 4th. But buried in the piece is the bizarre fact that Sanders once questioned whether or not cancer– and cervical cancer in particular– was caused by a lack of orgasms.

Sanders once wrote for a Vermont left-wing revolutionary paper called “The Freeman.” Many of his contributions were a bit kooky, such as one claiming the U.S. was on the brink of nuclear annihilation or “death by poison gas.” But perhaps the craziest was Sanders’ take on cancer:

Mr. Sanders contributed only sporadically… [H]e cited studies claiming that cancer could be caused by psychological factors such as unresolved hostility toward one’s mother, a tendency to bury aggression beneath a “facade of pleasantness” and having too few orgasms. “Sexual adjustment seemed to be very poor in those with cancer of the cervix,” he wrote, quoting a study in a journal called Psychosomatic Medicine.

This should go without saying, but there is no evidence that orgasms have anything to do with cancer or cervical cancer.

[Image via screengrab]

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