# Men do not need penis bones...oh really?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731 "2016-12-14T23:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/1 "2016-12-14T23:18:55Z")
:eek::eek: (Hope this has not been posted yet. I did a search for the word penis) 😃 [http://www.wnem.com/story/34050977/loss-of-penis-bones-blamed-on-monogamy-quick-sex](http://www.wnem.com/story/34050977/loss-of-penis-bones-blamed-on-monogamy-quick-sex) :dubious::dubious:😛 ---
**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:** [December 14, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/2 "2016-12-14T23:49:24Z")
I don’t think that there is a post here, but there is [one on IO9](http://gizmodo.com/new-research-suggests-monogamy-killed-the-penis-bone-in-1790075764), with some good comments amongst the snark. For instance, the claim is that humans lost our baculum because of monogamy, but one of our closest relatives, the bonobo, have almost lost theirs (it is only 8mm long) and they are very, very polygamous, so the idea doesn’t seem to pass the smell test. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/3 "2016-12-15T01:31:41Z")
I don’t understand. I’ve been monogamous for 29 years, and I could use a penis bone. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/4 "2016-12-15T06:07:17Z")
Apparently, some species do indeed have penis bones. I have a friend who spent much time above the arctic circle, and is very proud of his collection of “pecker bones” from various arctic species. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/5 "2016-12-15T06:14:33Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > [http://www.wnem.com/story/34050977/loss-of-penis-bones-blamed-on-monogamy-quick-sex](http://www.wnem.com/story/34050977/loss-of-penis-bones-blamed-on-monogamy-quick-sex) > [@](#): > > In other mammals, the baculum still exists. Its structural support helps animals mate for longer than three minutes, which is important to the survival of sperm when mating occurs between multiple, aggressive males and a single female. > > Without rivals vying for genetic continuity, humans don’t need the extra time. Wait. So this is saying that, because of the lack of a penis bone, human males can’t keep at it for longer than three minutes at a stretch, unless they’re some sort of freaks of nature? That’s what I’ve been telling my girlfriends! Maybe now they’ll listen! ---
**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:** [December 15, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/6 "2016-12-15T12:44:19Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Apparently, some species do indeed have penis bones. The majority of mammal species have them. Humans are the weirdos for lacking them. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/7 "2016-12-15T14:07:41Z")
[A couple of](http://styleblueprint.com/atlanta/everyday/oosik-jewelry-fossilized-peter-jewelry/) [interesting posts](https://retrieverman.net/tag/oosik/) on the subject. (Found through [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=Oosik&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjYwZScq_bQAhXDeSYKHQiABM4Q_AUICSgC&biw=1056&bih=518) Google image search.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/8 "2016-12-15T15:14:24Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Apparently, some species do indeed have penis bones. I have a friend who spent much time above the arctic circle, and is very proud of his collection of “pecker bones” from various arctic species. The Inuit word is “[oosik](https://www.google.com/search?q=oosik&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=770&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj74PW0vvbQAhUC9GMKHddmDGYQ_AUIBygC)”. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/9 "2016-12-15T19:11:55Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Wait. So this is saying that, because of the lack of a penis bone, human males can’t keep at it for longer than three minutes at a stretch, unless they’re some sort of freaks of nature? > > That’s what I’ve been telling my girlfriends! Maybe now they’ll listen! sweet, mrAru is a freak =) \ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/10 "2016-12-15T19:42:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The majority of mammal species have them. Humans are the weirdos for lacking them. Eh, we’re not that weird. They only exist among the placentals - monotremes and marsupials don’t have them, and they’re not even universal among the placentals. There are a few other primates that lack them (though oddly, not among the other great apes), as do horses, cetaceans, and a bunch of others. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/11 "2016-12-15T22:54:31Z")
Do you realize how much trouble some of us would get into if we had one of those? Not to mention the locker room embarrassment… ---
**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:** [December 15, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-not-need-penis-bones-oh-really/774731/12 "2016-12-15T23:43:31Z")
Note that [Dave Barry’s](http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2008/01/oosik-update.html) [oosik](http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2007/11/nature-update.html) seems to have broken and rehealed. So, ouch.