Originally posted by ChimeraTX@Mar 7 2005, 10:39 PM
We have gotten taller. Why can't the penis size grow?
average human height (for both men and women) has increased approximately 1 inch over the last 40 years. if we assume that penis size is somehow related to overall height (which most studies have indicated is clearly not the case), or that it at least increases at a similar rate, an equivalent increase in penis size based on an "average" flaccid size of 3.5" and an average height of approximately 5'8" in 1960 would mean that 2000, with an average height of 5'9", the average flaccid penis would be 3.6". that's an increase of 0.1", or, in the last 20 years, of only 0.05". I very seriously doubt that anyone would notice an increase of 0.05" at a urinal or in a public changing room.
(I disagree with the 3.5" "average" flaccid penis size though--I believe the average size is actually much lower, which would make the increase over time in this scenario even smaller.)
of course, that's just a guess. it's entirely possible that flaccid penis size among teenagers has increased dramatically over the last ten years, leading to a teenage population hauling elephant-sized penises out of their pants when they take a leak. it's also possible that there are talking monkeys living on Venus.
if something like that WERE going on, consider other possible explanations: as I mentioned before, boxer shorts make things hang looser and thus "longer". plus, it's very common for young people to trim or completely remove their pubic hair, leading to a flaccid penis that appears to be longer, but isn't.
you're free to argue that penis size isn't related to overall height (or anything else) and therefore COULD be increasing more rapidly. every time this topic comes up (and it has several times in the past in different forms), people seem to routinely site "nutrition" as the main contributing factor. what exactly are young people eating nowadays that's causing their penises to grow so quickly? and, why isn't it appreciably affecting the size of any of their other body parts? are they tripping over their ball sacks now as well? do they have especially large colons? and most importantly, why weren't people eating it before?
Ineligible said:
"I think it's quite likely that people are developing sooner because of better nutrition. We know that's certainly true for girls."
studies indicate that earlier sexual development in girls isn't linked to "better" nutrition, but exactly the opposite: it appears to be directly related to increased rates of childhood obesity. however, the effect is apparently the opposite for boys: obese boys tend to develop later than those who are of average or lower weight. since it's widely known that on the average children (both boys and girls) are heavier now than they ever have been, it would stand to reason that in general, if anything boys would be developing LATER than ever.
by the way, being taller has obvious advantages from an evolutionary standpoint, but I can't think of a single evolutionary benefit to having a larger penis. of course, i'm not saying that rules out the possibility of the human penis increasing in size over time due to "evolution", but when other aspects of the human physique whose size plays a role in terms of functionality (such as overall height) aren't increasing at a breakneck (or even immediately noticeable) pace, it seems unlikely that a body part whose size is basically insignificant would be growing to such an extent that people would be observing the change in public restrooms. the turtle whose shell evolved over time to allow him to eat leaves higher up on plants and therefore outlive less-evolved turtles who couldn't reach the food didn't concurrently develop immense nostrils and feathers, because he didn't NEED those thing and had no reason to develop them. (i think a lot of people need a refresher course on how evolution actually works.)
btw you have to admit it's a bit ridiculous to discuss this topic on a site whose population includes many people who post blatant exaggerations and made-up stories for their own sexual enjoyment (like "I was in my high school today and all these guys had huge dicks in the changing room and we all jacked off together" or "my penis is 13" long hard, is that big?")
I live in a dorm with hundreds of male late teen (18 & 19) students all of whom have penises (I believe this to be true). And I've seen many of those said penises on many occasions, and most of them are just "family sized". On occasion I've noticed some very large specimens, but those are just the show-offs trying to distract their peers from their reading. So according to my study this question has a flawed premise!
