Cal alum Paul Joannides observes, “The United States was originally settled by a group of religious outcasts, malcontents, criminals and slaves—the fact that we’re not all into some form of bondage is a little amazing.”

But relax your idea of what constitutes sadomasochistic tendencies. If you include not just getting whipped by a leather-clad dominatrix while attempting auto-asphyxiation, but also giving your partner a little hickey during a make-out session, this campus is just crawling with sadistic heathens. Kind of comforting, actually.

A lot of what would be classified as “Bondage Lite”—furry handcuffs, silk blindfolds, nipple nibbling, hair pulling and the occasional doggie-style spanking—has made its way from the fringes of alternative sexuality to the “Top 10 Ways to Spice Up Your Sex Life” cover story of Cosmopolitan Magazine. (Click here for full story)