# Do Some African Men Have Penises So Long That They Tie Them In Knots To Walk?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 7, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490 "2004-09-07T15:13:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/1 "2004-09-07T15:13:35Z")
I happened to run across the following quote from Dr. Tim Birkhead, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Sheffield, in the following article:
[http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:wGwr4fQ8\_coJ:news.independent.co.uk/world/science\_technology/story.jsp%3Fstory%3D554731+"SURVIVAL+OF+THE+BIGGEST"+Tim+Birkhead+&hl=en](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:wGwr4fQ8_coJ:news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp%3Fstory%3D554731+%22SURVIVAL+OF+THE+BIGGEST%22+Tim+Birkhead+&hl=en)
_“Penis length in humans generally varies from 10-20cm (erect), but there is a tribe in Africa in which the male member is much longer, and its owners tie it into a loose knot while walking.”_
Is this quote accurate? If so, what is the name of this particular tribe so I run a Google search on it??
From some experiments I ran over the weekend with a kielbasa, I don’t see how it’s possible to tie a penis into a knot unless the length-to-diameter ratio is at least 15:1. Therefore, in order for this to be true, I suspect that this tribe must accomplish this feat by attaching weights to their penises for long periods of time, increasing its length but decreasing the diameter.
What’s the straight dope?
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/2 "2004-09-07T15:17:07Z")
::: singing:::
Can you tie it in a knot?
Can you tie it in a bow?
Can you toss it over your shoulder
like a continental soldier?
::: leaves room:::
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/3 "2004-09-07T15:23:34Z")
If ‘there is a tribe in Africa’ is as accurate and explicit as the good professor can manage, I think it’s a fair bet that he’s at best poorly informed.
In some African tribes, the penis is suspended by means of a soft ribbon looped around the waist and tied loosely around the gathered prepuce, holding the penis in an upright position, out of harm’s way; I suspect a misreading of an account of this practice is at the root of the story.
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/4 "2004-09-07T16:14:24Z")
What did the Indian say when the black man tied his penis in a knot?
“How come?”
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/5 "2004-09-07T17:25:09Z")
:rolleyes: Between this thread and the one about ass pimples, I can see this week is shaping up to be a real peach.
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### Author:  [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/6 "2004-09-07T18:10:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> :rolleyes: Between this thread and the one about ass pimples, I can see this week is shaping up to be a real peach.
Well, it’s not like this isn’t the Straight Dope Message Board, affiliated with The Straight Dope by **Cecil Adams**. The same Cecil Adams, I might point out, who spent column inches pondering questions like,
[Does average human penis length vary among ethnic groups?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_193.html),
[Is it possible to straighten and lengthen the penis?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/001020.html),
[Do penis enlargement devices actually work?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_056.html),
[Does the pig have a corkscrew-shaped penis?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_060.html),
[What’s up with vacuum cleaner wounds to the penis?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_225.html), and
[Why does the penis shrink when it’s cold?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpenis.html), as well as my personal favorites,
[Can the candiru fish swim upstream into your urethra?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000519.html) and
[Can the candirú fish swim upstream into your urethra (revisited)?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html)
So, you know, it’s all in the spirit of lengthening ones horizons and beating back ignorance.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/7 "2004-09-07T18:10:57Z")
I don’t think a sausage is an accurate stand-in for a flaccid member. Sausages are much less bendable.
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### Author:  [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/8 "2004-09-07T18:47:49Z")
it seems like tying your penis would cause you to get a boner which I imagine would be unbearably painful while tied in a knot and cut off the circulation :eek:
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### Author:  [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/9 "2004-09-07T19:53:08Z")
I just read the about fish swimming up the guys penis again…big mistake. :smack:
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/10 "2004-09-07T19:59:43Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> If ‘there is a tribe in Africa’ is as accurate and explicit as the good professor can manage, I think it’s a fair bet that he’s at best poorly informed.
>
> In some African tribes, the penis is suspended by means of a soft ribbon looped around the waist and tied loosely around the gathered prepuce, holding the penis in an upright position, out of harm’s way; I suspect a misreading of an account of this practice is at the root of the story.
It certainly sounds like a misinformed statement to me. The guy’s [research interests](http://www.shef.ac.uk/aps/tim.html) suggest study of African tribes isn’t high on his agenda.
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### Author:  [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/11 "2004-09-07T20:27:55Z")
I think the kicker on this one is the word ‘knot’, which is a misnomer **Mangetout** dismissed easily.
Furthermore, haven’t you guys seen ‘Puppetry of the Penis’?
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/12 "2004-09-07T20:40:42Z")
Any man who writes books like the one cited below should (assumedly) have a good idea of how big male human members are and can be. The “knotting tribe” cite is utter BS, but you have to ask yourself why he doesn’t know any better, especially in his purported status an expert on human sexual biology.
[Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict Tim Birkhead
Faber & Faber 2000](http://dannyreviews.com/h/Promiscuity.html')
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### Author:  [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/13 "2004-09-07T21:03:25Z")
The sadhus in India have been known to stretch out their penises, and do such things as lift rocks with them, or twist them around sticks, and bundle them up. It’s a religious thing, not an evolutionary thing.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/14 "2004-09-07T21:12:17Z")
> [@zut](#):
>
> Well, it’s not like this isn’t the Straight Dope Message Board, affiliated with The Straight Dope by **Cecil Adams**. The same Cecil Adams, I might point out, who spent column inches pondering questions like…
>
> [snip]
>
> So, you know, it’s all in the spirit of lengthening ones horizons and beating back ignorance.
Har!
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### Author:  [@Racer1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Racer1)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/15 "2004-09-07T21:15:24Z")
Well, I, for one, think it’s a great idea.
For years I’ve had to struggle with undoing cryptic bra straps without ruining the moment. I think it’s about time women had something they have to undo too.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/16 "2004-09-07T21:47:26Z")
Of course the tribe is real. They live on Knotting Hill.
I think Hugh Grant made a movie about it, even.
It was called “The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill And Came Down With His Dingus Tied In A Knot,” or some such.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/17 "2004-09-07T22:06:30Z")
Further to what I said above; ancient Greek athletes had a similar contraption to stop their dangly bits flopping around when they competed in the nude. The name of the thing was _Kynodesme_ - I’m not going to link to any pages showing one, but they’re out there.
I suspect that the article is either describing this in such an abiguous way that it sounds like he’s talking about typing the actual penis in a knot, or that the professor has made that mistake himeslf and is now repeating his mistaken understanding of the whole deal.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/18 "2004-09-07T23:12:09Z")
I don’t think the rules allow me to link to **The Penis Page** because of pics there, but you can get enough to Google from this quote:
> [@](#):
>
> The Caramoja tribe of northern Uganda tie a weight on the end of their penises to elongate them - sometimes to such a degree that the men literally have to knot them up - while the Mambas of New Hebrides wrap theirs in yards and yards of cloth, making them look up to 17 inches long.
I cannot speak for the veracity of the claim.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/19 "2004-09-07T23:20:40Z")
Googling for ‘Caramoja’ makes me highly suspicious that it’s complete fiction. Over half of the 300-ish results are all repetitions of a “unusual sex facts” text that appears to have come from Cosmopolitan about a decade ago. Hardly a reliable source.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-african-men-have-penises-so-long-that-they-tie-them-in-knots-to-walk/263490/20 "2004-09-07T23:47:21Z")
As I said I certainly can’t vouch for it. All I can say for sure is that they must be one slow-moving group of guys if they’re walking around with dicks tied to bricks.
I’ll be you soccer never caught on there. 😛
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