Would you give up sex for an iPhone or a paved road?

Masterfile

What would prompt you to give up sex? For 33 percent of Americans the answer is clear: their iPhone. 

A recent survey conducted by the U.S. communications company TeleNav claims that when given the choice one third of Americans would give up sex rather than lose their stupid phone. Oops, I meant "smart phone". 

And you thought the credit rating downgrade was depressing. 

The TeleNav survey's participants aren’t the only ones who would choose modern technology over the appeal of old fashioned sex, however. Hundreds of women in a small town in southwestern Colombia are swearing off sexual activity too (via The Guardian). But these women aren’t going celibate because they want to play Angry Birds at midnight; the women of Barbacosas just want the central government to finally commit to paving a main road, and they're willing to go on a sex strike to get it. 

Dubbed the “crossed leg movement” the women of Barbacoas, Colombia have had a perma-headache since June 22 and they're going to stay on their side of the bed until the central government finally commits to investing in a paved road that would link the small port town to the rest of the province. 

What’s so important about getting a paved road in Barbacoas? Improved and reliable access to and from Barbacoas would reportedly translate into a dramatic reduction in the cost of food and other goods. More importantly, it would cut down on the unnecessary loss of life due to an inadequate transport system. (One spokesperson for the Crossed Leg movement cited the needless death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child because the ambulance got stuck in the mud on the unpaved road.) 

In a recent article about the protest in The Guardian, one of the leaders, Ruby Quinonez, was quoted as saying, “Why bring children into this world when they can just die without medical attention and we can't even offer them the most basic rights? We decided to stop having sex and stop having children until the state fulfills its previous promises." 

The ladies’ sacrifice hasn’t been in vain. The Guardian reports that the government has invested in paving a large portion of the road with only 30 kms still remaining unpaved. The women are undeterred, however, and they’re claiming they’ll stay celibate until they get the full commitment.