“Fake dog testicles made this man a millionaire”

Ig Nobel Prize winner Gregg A. Miller and his doggone—well, dogpartiallygone—invention, Neuticles, are profiled by CNBC, with the headline “Fake dog testicles made this man a millionaire“: The 2005 Ig Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to Gregg A. Miller of Oak Grove, Missouri, for inventing Neuticles—artificial replacement testicles for dogs, available in three sizes, and three degrees […]

“Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture” research celebrated in Greece

“Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture” — the study that earned the 2002 Ig Nobel Medicine Prize — is given a keen appreciation, lavishly illustrated, in Athens magazine, in Greek. The study itself was published in the journal Nature, which featured it on the cover of their February 5, 1976 issue. The study’s author, […]

“Nuts!” (of/and goats, and dogs, etc., and people), the film

“In 1922, Brinkley traveled to Los Angeles at the invitation of Harry Chandler, owner of the Los Angeles Times, who challenged Brinkley to transplant goat testicles into one of his editors.” That’s just one nugget from the Wikipedia biography of “Doctor” John R. Brinkley, who lived a colorful life. Implanting goat testicles into strangers was […]

Chin Up, Testicularly

Body parts can be rearranged and/or augmented, in some cases. Here is such a case: “Testicular Augmentation Using Chin Implants,” Fernando Ugarte y Romano [pictured here] and Adolfo González Serrano, Journal of Sexual Medicine, epub October 22, 2012. The authors, at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, México, report: “Aim. To describe an unprecedented testicular […]

Is playing the harmonica linked to male infertility?

In the first study of its kind, a team of medics from the Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, have investigated whether male mouth-organ players might suffer abnormally high rates of infertility. They were following the hypothesis that the hard blowing associated with harmonica playing might mimic the so-called Valsalva maneuver which, say the […]

Conrad’s cutting remarks: Scissors (and WiFi & testicles?)

The organization called CONRAD, together with Nascentis Medicina Reproductiva, Córdoba, Argentina, supplied the researchers who did the research that resulted in the study “Use of laptop computers connected to internet through Wi-Fi decreases human sperm motility and increases sperm DNA fragmentation,” which we mentioned not so long ago. Investigator Julio Ernst commends this song, about Conrad, by […]

Ig Nobel Prizes on QI (with Stephen Fry & testicles)

The QI [which stands for “Quite Interesting] quiz program (hosted by Stephen Fry, broadcast on the BBC), featured the Ig Nobel Prizes. This new QI episode [see below] also featured a visit from Chris McManus of University College London. Professor McManus was awarded the 2002 Ig Nobel Prize in biology for his study called “Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture“, published […]

Neuticals noticed in San Francisco

The invention honored by the 2005 Ig Nobel Prize in medicine inspire the San Francisco Chronicle‘s “Tails of the City” blogger to do some moral calculus: Nothing prepared me for my recent introduction to Neuticals, the “revolutionary” and patented testicular implant for pets…. Read the entire calculation on the Chronicle site. BONUS: The patent (#5868140) for […]