# Testes question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891 "2009-02-15T01:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/1 "2009-02-15T01:06:50Z")
For a set of organs that I don’t need to live, why are there so many nerves in my testes? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/2 "2009-02-15T01:09:14Z")
They’re not for you, they’re for the species. Pain keeps you from damaging them too much. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/3 "2009-02-15T01:32:35Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > For a set of organs that I don’t need to live, why are there so many nerves in my testes? From an evolutionary perspective the rest of you is merely a support system to help the testes do their job. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/4 "2009-02-15T01:38:10Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > They’re not for you, they’re for the species. Pain keeps you from damaging them too much. [QUOTE=Pochacco] From an evolutionary perspective the rest of you is merely a support system to help the testes do their job. [/QUOTE] Then why doesn’t my penis hurt when it gets hit? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/5 "2009-02-15T01:43:56Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Then why doesn’t my penis hurt when it gets hit? If you whap it hard with a hammer, slice it with a razor, or drive a spike through it, you’ll feel significant pain. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/6 "2009-02-15T01:46:55Z")
Penises are just the delivery mechanism; they don’t need to function perfectly or even well. As long as they can get semen out and in the ballpark, so to speak, it’s all good.Testes, on the other hand, produce the species’ genetic future. Damage to these can cause fatal mutations or sterility. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/7 "2009-02-15T01:51:12Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Then why doesn’t my penis hurt when it gets hit? It doesn’t? **Anywhere** on it?? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![HolyFreakingMoly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@HolyFreakingMoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HolyFreakingMoly)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/8 "2009-02-15T01:53:52Z")
They also give the fairer gender a good, vulnerable target should we need to protect ourselves from some testosterone overloaded asshole! ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/9 "2009-02-15T01:57:09Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Then why doesn’t my penis hurt when it gets hit? Because whoever’s hitting it is sissy? 🙂 Seriously, in what circumstances does your penis get hit and you don’t feel pain? Mine hurts like a mammjamma whenever it gets hit. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/10 "2009-02-15T02:09:22Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Then why doesn’t my penis hurt when it gets hit? Evolution probably didn’t bother because your penis gets a little different use than you balls, and if you ever got hit in the balls you’d quickly learn to protect that whole area anyway. Who’s cock-punching you, and why haven’t you learned to protect that spot? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/11 "2009-02-15T02:19:25Z")
Testes, testes, 1, 2, 1, 2,… ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/12 "2009-02-15T15:18:38Z")
Those nerves aren’t just about pain. They’re for pleasure too. And that is the other reason there’s so many of them there. Nature gives you an incentive to use them as well an incentive to protect them. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/13 "2009-02-15T15:26:39Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > If you whap it hard with a hammer, slice it with a razor, or drive a spike through it, you’ll feel significant pain. It vaguely disturbs me to think that you have treated people who have experienced all these things :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/14 "2009-02-15T15:30:20Z")
Given the evolutionarily vital role of the ol’ nugs, how long will it take for the human species to evolve a sort of built-in cup, like a skull for your balls? Does any other species have this? Or maybe the quicker path will be for the testes to move back into the abdomen where they’ll be protected like all the other vital organs. I know they hang outside the body for temperature control, but it’s an awful tradeoff. Maybe in a million years or so they can stay snug up against the kidneys but with their processes altered such that they can still produce sperm at the higher temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seeker_of_Truth_and_Beauty)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/15 "2009-02-15T16:45:28Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It vaguely disturbs me to think that you have treated people who have experienced all these things :eek: Given _where_ he works, doesn’t surprise me at all. Not one bit. But still – :eek:! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/16 "2009-02-15T17:07:34Z")
> [@Seeker of Truth & Beauty](#): > > Given _where_ he works, doesn’t surprise me at all. Not one bit. > > But still – :eek:! Many of my patients blame their penises for the trouble they’re in, and seek revenge. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/17 "2009-02-15T17:44:39Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > They’re not for you, they’re for the species. Pain keeps you from damaging them too much. Yes. Guys who fail to protect their testes get weeded out of the gene pool. This is why you can earn a [Darwin Award](http://www.darwinawards.com/rules/) by rendering yourself dead _or_ sterile. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/18 "2009-02-15T17:55:18Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It vaguely disturbs me to think that you have treated people who have experienced all these things :eek: I’ve known many guys who are into genital abuse (especially testes-related), and believe me, there’s a thin line separating pain from pleasure . . . and for some, there’s no line at all. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/19 "2009-02-15T17:56:57Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Many of my patients blame their penises for the trouble they’re in, and seek revenge. > > Seriously. If they’re dumb enough to believe it’s the organ’s fault, perhaps it isn’t such a bad thing after all… y’know, Darwin and all that… S^G ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891/20 "2009-02-15T18:08:31Z")
> [@Satellite\_Guy](#): > > If they’re dumb enough to believe it’s the organ’s fault, perhaps it isn’t such a bad thing after all… y’know, Darwin and all that… > > S^G Everyone always quotes Darwin, but most of these guys have managed to reproduce already. Our bar is set pretty low in today’s society as far as being a freelance sperm donor goes… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testes-question/485891.md?page=2)