# Adam's Penis in the Sistine Chapel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521 "2018-10-05T19:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/1 "2018-10-05T19:20:19Z")
What’s up with that strange looking wart on Adam’s upper thigh on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling? Is that [weird little flap](http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelo-creation-of-adam/) supposed to be Adam’s penis? Okay, it’s flaccid, obviously. But isn’t it a little misshapen? I mean, fine, the penis supposed to be laying on its side. But Adam’s heavily muscled right leg is straight out and his left leg is bent at the knee. Adam’s resting on his naked ass, so by that perspective, the penis should be tucked between the two legs, and hidden away like in a PG-13 movie. But no, his wang is peeking out, up and over the right leg. Wouldn’t it slide off? What’s holding it there? Scotch tape? I admit, my experience with the resting pose of a male penis is somewhat scant, but that picture always seemed wrong to me. It’s like Michelangelo was saying, “Well if you can’t see his dong, he’s not really naked.” What do you guys think? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/2 "2018-10-05T19:31:59Z")
Also, why does God need clothes? I think he might be hiding his belly button. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/3 "2018-10-05T19:39:44Z")
He’s a grower, not a shower. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/4 "2018-10-05T19:45:10Z")
Doesn’t look to me much different from, say, some of [these reclining male nudes](https://www.google.com/search?q=reclining+male+nude+in+painting&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy4bKCh_DdAhXpnuAKHfmpAu0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1066&bih=811) in other artistic works. I don’t understand the question about the penis “sliding off”. The flaccid (and uncircumcised, which is what’s giving the tip that conical shape) penis is resting on the thigh muscle which is between it and the scrotum. In other words, the balls are sort of “caught” behind the thigh. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/5 "2018-10-05T19:50:46Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > …Wouldn’t it slide off? You do realize penises are attached, right? They don’t slide off us when we’re naked. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/6 "2018-10-05T19:51:57Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > What’s up with that strange looking wart on Adam’s upper thigh on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling? Is that [weird little flap](http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelo-creation-of-adam/) supposed to be Adam’s penis? Okay, it’s flaccid, obviously. But isn’t it a little misshapen? > . . . You think that’s bad? Have a look at God’s left arm and index finger. [It’s tentacular!](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1f/Creation_of_Adam_Sistine_Chapel.jpg) No wonder the woman and child are trying to sneak away while his head is turned! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/7 "2018-10-05T19:55:37Z")
Hey, it’s \*cold \*on that ceiling! ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/8 "2018-10-05T19:56:14Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You do realize penises are attached, right? They don’t slide off us when we’re naked. It just seems to me that the penis is stretched up and over the right leg. Flaccid, it would tend to roll downward, wouldn’t it? Unless its stuck there with glue or something. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/9 "2018-10-05T20:13:21Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > It just seems to me that the penis is stretched up and over the right leg. Flaccid, it would tend to roll downward, wouldn’t it? Unless its stuck there with glue or something. It looks about right to me. You should find a penis and experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/10 "2018-10-05T20:17:36Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It looks about right to me. You should find a penis and experiment. But then how would I get on the Supreme Court? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/11 "2018-10-05T20:20:33Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > But then how would I get on the Supreme Court? Too soon for jokes. But just make sure it’s a willing penis. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/12 "2018-10-05T20:22:54Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Doesn’t look to me much different from, say, some of [these reclining male nudes](https://www.google.com/search?q=reclining+male+nude+in+painting&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy4bKCh_DdAhXpnuAKHfmpAu0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1066&bih=811) in other artistic works. > > I don’t understand the question about the penis “sliding off”. The flaccid (and uncircumcised, which is what’s giving the tip that conical shape) penis is resting on the thigh muscle which is between it and the scrotum. In other words, the balls are sort of “caught” behind the thigh. Right. The “classical” aestetic called for the artistic representation of the penis to be uncut, flaccid and small. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/13 "2018-10-05T20:56:15Z")
Adam is leaning to his right and resting on his right hip; a line drawn through his hips would be somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees off the horizontal. What’s holding the penis in that position is gravity. eta: why did I never notice that Adam is painted with a navel. Isn’t that completely wrong? Or was he created with a navel so that he wouldn’t stand out as weird from his male offspring? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/14 "2018-10-05T21:42:19Z")
I don’t know, but, that big muscle-y man oughta be more endowed. Seems bit tiny to me.😉 And, yea/naw that belly button ain’t right. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/15 "2018-10-05T21:52:47Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You do realize penises are attached, right? They don’t slide off us when we’re naked. [Speak for yourself](https://youtube.com/watch?v=byDiILrNbM4)! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/16 "2018-10-05T21:59:24Z")
Huh, I would have guessed Mr. Green’s revolver in the Billiard Room. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/17 "2018-10-05T22:05:28Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t know, but, that big muscle-y man oughta be more endowed. Seems bit tiny to me.😉 And, yea/naw that belly button ain’t right. You should see[David](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)). Anyway, I’m happy to report that small out-of-shape guys can be well endowed. \*Very \*well endowed. From what I’ve read of the Renascence, it was a compliment to portray a man with a smaller penis, as it implied he was thoughtful and clever. Large penises were [associated with very specific characteristics: foolishness, lust and ugliness.](http://www.howtotalkaboutarthistory.com/reader-questions/why-do-all-old-statues-have-such-small-penises/) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/18 "2018-10-05T22:16:21Z")
I am happy for you. But, I did read the small penis thing was considered a good thing back then. Ain’t it weird how men like to brag how big they are nowadays? How things have changed. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/19 "2018-10-05T22:20:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t know, but, that big muscle-y man oughta be more endowed. Seems bit tiny to me.😉 And, yea/naw that belly button ain’t right. Ain’t right?? Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me: where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast the understanding. Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it? Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521/20 "2018-10-05T22:40:12Z")
I just meant it was an in-ny. Jeez. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adams-penis-in-the-sistine-chapel/822521.md?page=2)