There is more to men than just their
penis. Do you think we get through this video without talking about the weird things
the male sex organ does? Only time will tell. If you’ve ever been awoken by a snoring
partner it was most likely a male. That is because sleep studies have found
that men tend to snore more than women. Some research studies have hypothesized
that this is because men tend to have more abdominal body fat than women. Whether
this is a result of drinking too much beer, or just not working out enough, is something
to be assessed on a case by case basis. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that
about 40% of men are habitual snorers. This is almost twice the percentage of women, which the
study found was closer to 24%. So, if you are a male who is woken up by snoring, there is a good
chance you were the snorer and woke yourself up. Dental hygiene is important for both males
and females, but did you know that men’s teeth are larger on average than women’s?
This might not be super surprising, but the reason why is actually pretty crazy. All of the teeth in the male mouth tend
to be larger than in females. However, there is one set of teeth that are almost always
larger and sharper in men. The pointy canine teeth can be significantly larger in a man’s mouth.
When you think about it in evolutionary terms, this makes sense. Our closest relatives,
the chimpanzee, use their canines to assert dominance in a group by pulling back their lips
in a threatening way to show off their teeth. In this display of power the canines
are always the most prominent. In our distant past, human ancestors most likely
had a hierarchy within their social groups similar to that of which we see today in modern
apes. Therefore, males who had larger canines were more intimidating and dangerous. This was
less important for the females of the species, so there was no evolutionary pressure
for them to evolve larger teeth. Hair can be a touchy subject for men. Whether
it is because early hair loss is embarrassing, or because they want a luxurious beard,
men are obsessed with their hair. But one weird fact is that men typically
have darker hair than women do. When you think about it you probably
know more blonde haired women than men. This is not surprising since when men go through
puberty they produce higher amounts of melanin than women. Melanin is one of the pigments
responsible for skin, hair, and eye color. More melanin normally results in darker traits.
Since men tend to produce slightly more melanin than women this most likely plays a role
in them having darker hair on average.
We’ve all heard the saying that
someone has thick skin—meaning that not a lot bothers them—but
men actually have thicker skin. Men normally generate more
testosterone than women. One side effect of this is that men’s skin is
slightly thicker. Testosterone can stimulate the growth of skin cells. More skin cells
means thicker skin. In fact, men’s skin tends to be about 25% thicker than the skin of
females. This is not an insignificant number, and the difference between male and
female skin does not just stop there. Men also have tougher skin than women. Whether
this was an evolutionary adaptation to help them in fending off dangerous animals, or fighting
for dominance in their social circle, is unclear. But tougher skin may have been an advantage
to men earlier in our specie’s history. Thicker and tougher skin could just
be a byproduct of more testosterone, but it also may have helped men survive. One last weird fact about men’s skin is that it actually has the ability
to slow the aging process. What we mean by this is that if men are careful
about how they treat their body, the signs of aging will be reduced. Men lose collagen density
slightly slower than women do, resulting in less wrinkles and sagging as they get older. The
fact that a man is getting older doesn’t change, but the looks associated with aging can
be less significant in men than in women. This is only true if men take care of
their skin. We are not talking about using moisturizing products, but by reducing
sun-related damage by wearing sunscreen, and making sure to be careful while shaving
to reduce nicks and other damage to the skin. If men are smart about how they treat
their skin, it will last much longer, and allow them to maintain their
rugged good looks a bit longer. We did our best to stay away from the penis, but there are too many weird facts about it
to not include in this video… so here we go. All men are born with foreskin around the tip
of their penis. Depending on the culture they are raised in, or preference of the parents,
this skin can be removed or circumcised. But what is the foreskin of the penis
actually for? The answer is pretty weird. The foreskin itself is a double layer of skin,
and a mucus membrane, that covers the head of the penis when it’s flaccid. The foreskin most likely
served as some form of protection for the penis in the distant past before humans developed clothing.
It may have prevented dust or other outside particulates from entering the urethra, or perhaps
it was a shield against unpleasant bug bites on the sensitive head of the male member. As of right
now we do not know exactly why men have foreskins. However, The World Health Organization
has found some interesting, and scary facts about this weird part of the male body. According to the WHO uncircumcised men
have a higher risk of contracting HIV. This is because cells called Langerhans
cells found in the mucous under the foreskin are highly susceptible to the HIV virus. These
cells allow the virus an entry point into the body where it can begin to target a man’s white
blood cells and dismantle their immune system. The WHO found that men who are circumcised
have a reduced risk of contracting HIV by 60%. And the weird facts about foreskin don’t
stop there. Circumcision of this piece of skin dates all the way back to artwork
in Egyptian tombs from around 2300 B.C.E. The removal of the foreskin became common as a
right of passage in Jewish and Muslim religions long ago, but it was in the 1800’s
that foreskin removal got real weird. During the 1800’s circumcision gained
favor in the realm of public health. It was claimed that by removing the foreskin a
man could be relieved of antisocial behavior or even paralysis. The foreskin was also blamed for
decreasing a man’s sexual pleasure, and therefore, was often removed. Even though none of these
benefits of removing foreskin are true, this strange piece of the male body
definitely gives you something to think about Whether a man has foreskin or not,
the shape of the penis is the same. And this shape has some
surprising and weird functions. The head of the penis is shaped in a way that
may serve an evolutionary benefit for males. Scientists know that in certain primates males
often compete to have sex with the same female to pass on their DNA to the
next generation. Humans are no different in the evolutionary scheme of things. The head of the penis is actually pretty good at
extracting another male’s sperm from the female’s reproductive system. Think of it as a kind of
plunger. The mushroom shape of the male penis allows the head to scoop out rival sperm, and give
its own sperm a better chance at reaching the egg. This fact is also supported by scientific
studies. In the Journal of Evolutionary Psychology one study found that the shape of
a human penis was optimal for depositing sperm into the vagina while simultaneously displacing
rival sperm. Researchers at University at Albany took things a step further and created artificial
penises of different shapes to see which was best at scooping out rival sperm. Their findings were
not entirely surprising. The shape of an average male penis did an excellent job at flushing
out sperm that was already in the vagina, and thereby allowing a male’s own sperm to
have a better shot at impregnating a female. Men’s bodies create some weird substances,
but none is stranger than semen. What makes this bodily fluid so unique is
the journey that it takes to be created. When a man ejaculates the substance that
comes out of the urethra is called semen. You may be surprised to learn that semen actually
isn’t made up of very much sperm. In fact, only about 1 to 5 percent of the
liquid is made up of sex cells. Semen itself isn’t even created in the testicles
like you might think. Three different areas of the male body are needed to generate and mix together
all the components of semen. Sperm is created in the testes and when a man ejaculates it begins
its journey through the seminal vesicles where a yellowish fluid is mixed in. This substance is
what around 70% of the semen is actually made of. After the seminal vesicles,
the liquid passes through the prostate where a fluid containing
enzymes and other molecules is added. Just before ejaculation the fluid goes through the
bulbourethral glands, which secrete lubrication to allow the sperm to pass out of the urethra.
So the journey of semen is a pretty weird one. Our final weird fact about the male body is something that many men have
experienced, and is quite painful. For those of you who wonder if men get yeast
infections like females do, the answer is yes. Oftentimes yeast infections are associated
with pain in the female urinary tract, but men can experience this as well. A buildup
in bacteria in the urethra can cause massive discomfort in men. If you are a male, or
female, who has never had a yeast infection, consider yourself lucky. Yeast infections
are more common in men who are uncircumcised, so removing the piece of skin covering the
penis may have even more health benefits. But even circumcised men can get yeast
infections. Like in women, male yeast infections come with a rash, discharge,
and pain in the urethra. Luckily for men, the same medications that works
for females can cure them as well. If you thought yeast infections were a weird
situation that only happened to females, think again. The male and female bodies are
much more similar than they are different. Now watch “Weird Facts About Testicles.” Or
check out “Weird Facts About Female Body.”
