A billion hymens removed, just like that!

Is it history's most gigantic mass defloration, exceeding anything the Mongols or Soviets accomplished?

Nah, it's just Sweden:

There is too much mythology and confusion surrounding that crucial body part known as the hymen, and a new name should help to dispel some of the myths, according to the Swedish Assn. for Sexuality Education, which goes by the acronym RFSU. That new name, which the group believes is more descriptive, is the "vaginal corona."

Etymologically, the term hymen comes from the Greek word for membrane. In Swedish, it is called the modomshina, which translates as "virginity membrane." In fact, there is no brittle membrane or curtain, but rather multiple folds of mucous membrane. A vaginal corona, in other words.

"The vaginal corona is a permanent part of a woman's body throughout her life," said Asa Regner, RFSU secretary-general. "It doesn't disappear after she first has sexual intercourse, and most women don't bleed the first time. The myths surrounding the hymen were created to control women's freedom and sexuality. The only way to counteract this is by disseminating knowledge."

Uh, "disseminating"? Really?

So now, vaginas have crowns. Show reverence accordingly.

(Via Bookslut, who apparently is now crossing her fingers for "panties" to be renamed. Maybe next year.)

... Looking up "mass rape" at Wikipedia to look for guesstimates on the Mongols' rapine, I stumbled upon an article about a novella describing alleged "joy divisions," supposedly "groups of Jewish women in the concentration camps during World War II who were kept for the sexual pleasure of Nazi soldiers." In violation of the Nuremberg Laws, presumably. Anyway, that suddenly made the choice of "Joy Division" for a band name very, very creepy, none the less so for their reforming as New Order after their singer died.