GALLUP: The length of the foreskin is one of the most variable features of the human penis. So, does the foreskin pose a problem for the semen displacement theory? READERS: The latex genitalia study wasn't terribly convincing because the models were circumcised, and in real life the foreskin would interfere with the semen-displacing functions of the coronal ridge. Since it would be impossible for him to address every rejoinder to his semen displacement theory (and, frankly, some of them were so bizarre that I couldn’t make much sense of them anyway), I’ve translated a handful of these “core” questions below. In looking over the varied responses to the earlier post here at Scientific American and elsewhere on the Internet, Gordon and I noticed several conceptually flawed themes cropping up in people’s interpretations of his argument. I explained to him that there appeared to be a bit of confusion in the reading audience concerning some of the central evolutionary tenets of his position, and perhaps he might offer us a few more details regarding the theory to lay any recurring misunderstandings to rest. Therefore, I decided to speak with evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup of the State University of New York at Albany directly, whose controversial “semen displacement theory,” after all, was the one that struck up such a fierce (and I must say, entertaining) brouhaha regarding the adaptive functioning of this enigmatic organ. But the subject of human penis evolution appears to have touched a special nerve. I think I was a hairsbreadth away from being strangled by this scientist who took considerable offense to my suggestion that magpie intelligence isn’t as humanlike as it may appear. I once had the most unpleasant conversation with a very unlikable ornithologist while dining at a Japanese steakhouse in Binghamton. Reactions to my last post-“ Secrets of the Phallus: Why Does the Penis Look Like That?”- ranged from the incredulous ( are you seriously suggesting that chimpanzees aren’t promiscuous?-“tomrees”), to the imaginative ( penises! they're so cute, you just want to pinch their cheeks and give them cookies-“montavilla”), to the rather irritable ( stupid, biased thinking again from an ‘evolutionary psychologist’-“hcollins2009”).įor some reason, when it comes to asking whether human beings have evolved some specialized trait over the past several million years I’ve found that people tend to get weirdly worked up about it. It’s up to you.So, it seems people have some pretty strong feelings about penises. Or, if you want to go one step further, you can visit the Guolizhuang Restaurant, in Beijing, which specializes in penis and testicle dishes. You can never stop, you can never catch up, you can always get a new one, a better one.” The museum was started up by Sigurður Hjartarson, whose interest began when he was given a bull’s penis as a boy.Īccording to Hjartarson: “Collecting penises is like collecting anything. If this list has tickled your fancy, your next move might be to plan a trip to Iceland and visit the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which is dedicated to all things penile. And just in case there was any doubt, it doesn’t make you go blind, either. Thankfully, nowadays, food manufacturers spend less time trying to convince the youth to give up masturbation. He invented cornflakes and other products because he thought that plain foods would lead Americans away from the “sin” of masturbation. John Harvey Kellogg, the breakfast cereal mastermind, hoped that they would. If it is difficult to have or maintain an erection while awake, but not during sleep, this can point to an underlying psychological cause, rather than a physical one. Whatever the reason behind nocturnal erections, they can be useful as a diagnostic tool. So, by reducing the inhibition, the penis becomes erect. These cells inhibit the tone of the penis. However, because people with vaginas experience something similar - nocturnal clitoral tumescence - bed wetting prevention is probably not the entire answer.Īnother potential explanation is that REM sleep is linked with switching off cells that produce noradrenaline in the locus coeruleus, which is in the brainstem. One theory is that it might help prevent bed wetting: An erection inhibits urination.Ī full bladder is known to stimulate nerves in a similar region to those involved in erections. This is also called “nocturnal penile tumescence,” and it’s still not clear why it happens. Most people with penises have 3–5 erections every night, mostly during REM sleep.
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