Despite the thread name, this really is about your dick.
Along the lines of some of the more offbeat questions here recently about circumcision, I wanted to explore a casual (not causal) relationship I've noticed a lot over the years.
Most of my uncut American friends either drive stick-shift cars (or trucks) or at least know how to drive them and like them. On the other hand, almost every single one of my friends who disdains manual transmission is cut, and is equally adamant about the joys of hoodless dicks and clutchless driving.
In Europe and many other parts of the world, manual transmission is the norm. It generally gets better mileage, gives considerably more direct control in the hands of those who really know shifting, and you can't even get a driver's license if you can't pass your test in a stick. (UK now has a special limited automatic-only license, I hear, for those who promise to never, ever get pulled over driving a stick).
My friends abroad are equally disdainful of any attempts to streamline their transmission or their dick. Most claim to get more power and control from the basic version. And here's the kicker... my overseas friends who are keen on circumcision are also keen on not having to shift when they drive. They're the local minority on both. And as interest in circumcision has risen in Europe, particularly Germany & England, more cars with automatic transmission are being sold. Spain, France & Italy remain as little interested in circ as in automatic transmission cars.
The correlation holds true with US women as much as guys... I can almost always predict where one of my friends, especially an expectant mom or dad, stands on newborn circumcision by what they drive. I have yet to meet a female driving a stick-shift who wasn't at least very open to the idea of not having her kid cut, if not way ahead of me already on the issue.
I'm curious whether there may be some element of world-view going on here, such as "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" or "original way is best" or "I'll go with the less-engineered, less-costly version even if I need to work it a little more." My guy friends are pretty succinct about it, with comments like, "Automatic transmission is for sissies and hell no, no one's chopping my kid".
Other odd stats: Bay Area has the lowest circ rate in the country and the highest percentage sales of stick-shift cars (despite SF's hills). Midwest cities have the highest circ rates and the lowest sales of manual transmission vehicles.
Has anyone else noticed this connection? Eventually I'll figure out how to create one of those cool surveys at the start of threads that Matt here is so good at. It may be interesting to see.
Along the lines of some of the more offbeat questions here recently about circumcision, I wanted to explore a casual (not causal) relationship I've noticed a lot over the years.
Most of my uncut American friends either drive stick-shift cars (or trucks) or at least know how to drive them and like them. On the other hand, almost every single one of my friends who disdains manual transmission is cut, and is equally adamant about the joys of hoodless dicks and clutchless driving.
In Europe and many other parts of the world, manual transmission is the norm. It generally gets better mileage, gives considerably more direct control in the hands of those who really know shifting, and you can't even get a driver's license if you can't pass your test in a stick. (UK now has a special limited automatic-only license, I hear, for those who promise to never, ever get pulled over driving a stick).
My friends abroad are equally disdainful of any attempts to streamline their transmission or their dick. Most claim to get more power and control from the basic version. And here's the kicker... my overseas friends who are keen on circumcision are also keen on not having to shift when they drive. They're the local minority on both. And as interest in circumcision has risen in Europe, particularly Germany & England, more cars with automatic transmission are being sold. Spain, France & Italy remain as little interested in circ as in automatic transmission cars.
The correlation holds true with US women as much as guys... I can almost always predict where one of my friends, especially an expectant mom or dad, stands on newborn circumcision by what they drive. I have yet to meet a female driving a stick-shift who wasn't at least very open to the idea of not having her kid cut, if not way ahead of me already on the issue.
I'm curious whether there may be some element of world-view going on here, such as "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" or "original way is best" or "I'll go with the less-engineered, less-costly version even if I need to work it a little more." My guy friends are pretty succinct about it, with comments like, "Automatic transmission is for sissies and hell no, no one's chopping my kid".
Other odd stats: Bay Area has the lowest circ rate in the country and the highest percentage sales of stick-shift cars (despite SF's hills). Midwest cities have the highest circ rates and the lowest sales of manual transmission vehicles.
Has anyone else noticed this connection? Eventually I'll figure out how to create one of those cool surveys at the start of threads that Matt here is so good at. It may be interesting to see.