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Subscribe to RSSA study of eunuchs in Korea's royal court has found men without testicles live longer.
Researchers looking at the court of the Chosun Dynasty found eunuchs lived to 70 on average, or 14 to 19 years longer than "intact" men of similar socio-economic status.
Three of the 81 eunuchs studied lived to 100 or more, giving the group a centenarian rate some 130 times that in developed nations today.
During the dynasty, which ran from 1392 to 1910, boys in Korea sometimes underwent castration in order to serve as eunuchs and gain access to the privileged life of the palace.
Employed through history as guards or servants in harems across the Middle East and Asia, eunuchs in the Chosun court were allowed to marry and had families through adoption.
Kyung-Jin Min of Inha University and Cheol-Koo Lee of Korea University believe the longevity of the eunuchs was not simply attributable to their privileged lifestyle.
"Except for a few eunuchs, most lived outside the palace and spent time inside the palace only when they were on duty," Min told Reuters.
In contrast, the average lifespan of the kings, who spent their whole lives inside the palace, was just 47 years.
Previous studies have shown female mammals generally live longer than males, and one explanation is that testosterone weakens the immune system and can increase the chances of heart disease.
Scientists have also found that castration typically prolongs lifespan in animals but studies on people have been inconclusive.
While data on mentally ill, institutionalized men showed them living longer, the lifespan of castrato singers was not significantly different from their non-castrated counterparts.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
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Eunuchs don't live longer...it just seems longer.
LOL
No, they really do. But it's not what the researchers think.
Ever heard that line that goes:
Why do men usually die before their wives?
Because they want to.
It makes all the sense in the world, by losing all desire for sex these men are freed from all the stress and drama that a normal man endures on a daily basis. No wonder they live longer.
That makes a lot of sense to me ctdat.
Probably had a lot to do with STDs and stress factors.
neil 793844 - you nailed it.... Funny as hell!
ctdad... I'll take the option to keep "the fella's" right where they are... besides, those guys probably have stress and drama living with the other Eunuchs. Think about it, how many Eunuchs actually wanted to be one?
Whether it's worth it or not I suppose it depends on how much the boys get out. If you're a priest wack them off instead of wacking it off.
I think they could still have sex, just not father children. That's why the Catholic Church would not allow them to marry (they'd castrate the guys with good voices to sing for the Pope, but..) Anyhow, the only reason for marriage was to further the race, or have kids, and since they couldn't father kids, well, they couldn't get married.
So the researchers looked at nothing more than the penises to determine whether or not someone lived longer. No looking at eating habits? No looking at alcohol and tobacco intake?
Regardless of these results, you had best give me death before you take my dick.
They don't have to bare the stress of interacting with "the givers of pain and delight".
LOL! My first thought when I read the headline was "so what?"
Life is about quality, not quantity.
Dear Ranman: ain't nobody gonna chop yer d!ck off, it's yer ballz they'd be after....Google the term: castration. edjumacation is a wonderful thang.....
We have know for many years that neutering cats and dogs makes for better pets which have fewer behavioral problems and live longer lives. it would make sense that people, also being mammals, would too....
No thanks...i'll keep my nuts.
LMAO It not just the nuts involved. It's could really a cruel punishment but I believe it something that should be considered for major convicted sex offenders.
Hans Fritz, in his monograph on the italian castrati – Kastratengesang: Hormonelle, Konstitutionelle und Pädagogische Aspekte (Tutzing: Velegt bei Hans Schneider, 1994) – surveyed as many castrati as he could find birth and death dates for. Average life span was longer than for intact upper class Italian males of the period.
aaaawwwwww nuts!!!!
Well, this news just fills my heart with joy....there is a whole group of pedophiles and child molesters that I would love to see live a long time.....a very, very long time. I think we owe that to them....as good Christians, and all. In fact, I would consider it my Christian duty to help them live a long, long life.....hand me the knife, please....lie still, now...this will all be over in just a minute....and you're going to like you new tenor voice....
You know what they say:
The person who screams the loudest against something is almost always guilty of it himself.
So it's wrong to seek justice against the lowest of the low among egregious criminals who have notoriously high recidivism rates? I smell a bleeding heart.
Grandfather: unfortunately, the human voice deosn't get any higher after castration. The castrated man does not suddently BECOME soprano, he had to BE a boy soprano, then get castrated. Say if a bass, lowest of the male voices, was to be castrated, he would still be a bass, because his voice has already changed.
I do agree with you, though, that pedophiles should be castrated! Absolutely! Planet earth ain't short on people, so why don't we "chlorinate" the gene pool?
Live hard! Die Young!
So if we castrate old dying guys will it make them live longer?
I hope they still don't practice this.........do they? OUCH!
A life without nom noms...........I think not sayeth my head (big and little one)!!!!!
Liberals live longer?
Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
How's that sack of Viagra workin' for ya there wingnut?
Obama is in the process of removing the USA's genitals. We'll all live longer now??
Just because our President doesn't have any doesn't mean the Marines don't! Heck They'll even be nice enough to give em an old reach around if he tries to give up the ship!
All you little bastards turning this story into a political issue; I hope your nuts really do get chopped off soon.
Politicians and D!@($ go together. All this from a man who has a picture of George, Jerry's friend a man who had no oh sorry I didn't realize, how jealous you were!
Well, given the choice of living longer or keeping the boys, I'll keep the boys, thanks. And, thanks for finally giving me an EASY choice to make... Unlike should I eat Cheerios to keep my cholesterol down a little instead of my egss and bacon, this is the easiest choice I think I've ever been given.
If their living longer, it's because they are not chasing women like the rest of us men... The "hunt and capture" take years from us....lol
It's not the hunt, it's the capture. Once a woman finds out she has a good working pair she'll kill ya working em to death!!!!! ;-}
LAZY to the bone, ain'tcha there Bubba?
well... I wasn't planning on having more kids anyway.... :P
Here it comes .... We've already seen society embrace male genital mutilation. Now they are prepping for complete genital evisceration -- the feminists "final solution." No doubt the medical community will extole the benefits of castration.
InMyView - Who is "they"? Paranoid much? Feminists simply want equal treatment; most of them have husbands or boyfriends whose junk they would like to see remain intact.
Feminists are the descendants of the Amazons. They want to exterminate men. :(
According to Rush Limbaugh, feminists can magically shrink penises, so why would they even bother with castration?
Their technology is improving. We need solid lead cups!
In my view, you are so right. PAObserver, you actually believe the BS that "feminists simply want equal treatment"? SOME do, the equity feminists, and who can blame them, but they are the minority. But the gender feminists hate men and think male genital mutilation (performed on a helpless newborn boy) is fine and even amusing.
My advice to any woman considering this is DON'T!!! Unless you want another decade of his company!
This might be something China, India, Mexico, and the Muslim countries ought to look into. It would reduce their population also.
" I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead ! " ( Jimmy Buffett )
I'd just rather!!!
in part i'm sure the lack of testosterone reduced the frequency of stupid male risky behavior.
Live longer or keep mah nuggs? I think I'll take my chances
If you call that living.
The FDA has already declared testosterone as a controlled substance, since overuse can cause heart attacks, strokes and a tendency to grow a beard, wear a dress and wear a hat that looks like it was stolen from an organ grinder monkey. Maybe they have something there.
They call that an upside?
They had to suffer much longer, new study found.
Not having to deal with women because they have absolutely no desire and reason to do so is the real reason. No drama, no wasted emotional burden, no illusion of unattained satisfaction, there's your key to long life.
ok, now don't get me started on nads.
Okay, you live longer if you're castrated. But why would you want to?