Asking for a friend.

A new word for sure. Even Google struggles to come up with a meaning. All I can find there is something about holding a manatee by the face and looking into it's oral orifice or something like that.

I don't remember that as one of the temple recommend questions, but what do I know? Wherever you came across this word, stop reading, and go to your room.

The brethren would do well to recommend substituting "An Immense World", a fabulously enlighting tome by Ed Yong for the boring Book of Mormon. Members would be much better off.

Oripulaton by manatees is only one of the bazillion fascinating facts and descriptions of unique sensory systems that inform the lives our fellow earthy creatures.

Examples: the heat seeking pits of snakes that act much like our own vision; the circularly polarized light visable to mantis shrimp; the tetrachromatic vision (vision that can perceive ultra violet light) of erato butterflies; the ground squirrel's ability to tolerate extreme heat - close to 131° F.

Here's what I've figured out...

Oripulation involves the mouth, just as manipulation involves the hand and fingers.

Are you scratching your ear? (That's a form of manipulation!)

If you were nibbling on your lover's ear, that would be oripulation!

Now, I can't see The Brethren getting too upset about nibbling (oripulating) your date's ear(s), but what if you and your partner were oripulating that which ghawd hath forbidden, via that dumb ass, Spencer W. Killballs?



Here's a scientific explanation:

    "Because this grasping involves the face rather than the hand, it is referred to as ‘oripulation.’ Often, tactile scanning by the oral disk is followed by vigorous, repetitive oripulation by the large perioral vibrissae on the upper lips. This occurs not only ... during feeding, but also during investigation of novel objects ...

    "Such a behavioral specialization may be indicative of extensive sensorimotor integration within the central nervous system representations for the face.

    "Psychophysical tests of a few captive subjects have demonstrated that tactile acuity ... using the vibrissae of the face is at least as good as that of an elephant using the tip of its trunk

    "Interestingly, the eyes often close during (oripulation), which may heighten tactile acuity."



As to the OP's question, I'm gonna go with bishop's roulette and wish you all the best of luck if it gets that far.


Imma take a quick cold shower now ...

You are SUCH a "novel object."

  
  

http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Tactile_hair_in_Manatees


Perioral bristles are used to grasp objects, including plants that are ingested during feeding (Marshall et al., 1998). Because this grasping involves the face rather than the hand, it is referred to as ‘oripulation’. Often, tactile scanning by the oral disk is followed by vigorous, repetitive oripulation by the large perioral vibrissae on the upper lips. This occurs not only with plants during feeding, but also during investigation of novel objects including anchor lines, bathing suits, and human legs. Such a behavioral specialization may be indicative of extensive sensorimotor integration within the central nervous system representations for the face. Psychophysical tests of a few captive subjects have demonstrated that tactile acuity by manatees using the vibrissae of the face is at least as good as that of an elephant using the tip of its trunk (Weber fraction of 3-14%; Bachteler and Dehnhardt, 1999; Bauer et al., 2005). Interestingly, the eyes often close during feeding, which may heighten tactile acuity.

              I am reminded
              that reporting
              and analyzing
              are not quite
              the same thing.

It's only a sin if it feels good.

Is it a sin if you do the alphabet?

SWK would have considered it a sin, definitely.