There's a syndrome that can affect a large group of men where they panic in fear of losing their penises. They believe that their penises are retracting, or disappearing and it send them into hysteria. Fortunately, these cases are extremely rare and last for a very short time. Unsurprisingly, penis panic (also known as genital retraction syndrome, or koro) has affected groups of men in almost every single continent.
5 Times In History When Men Experienced Mass Panic Because Of Their Manhood
By
Michael Avery in
Bizarre
On 7th February 2016
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1. China
There are cases as early as the late 19th century documenting koro in China. The latest, which happened in 1984 to 1985, affected an estimated 3,000 people. Most attempted to "cure" their shrinkage using herbal remedies (red pepper jam, black pepper, or ginger juice) and most experienced it at night, which began with "chills." They also suffered from anxiety, tremors, palpitations, and thought frequently about death, but the symptoms only lasted anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes.
2. Singapore
In 1967, Singapore suffered from the largest penis panic in its history. Fears were driven to new heights when rumors were spread that consuming pig flesh treated with anti-swine flu vaccinations would cause koro. This caused people to literally stop eating pork and the country's medical association called multiple press conferences to attempt to quell its citizens from panic. According to a study done by the National Institute Of Health, cases of koro skyrocketed from one or two cases a year to 70 to 80 daily cases.
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3. Thailand
Thailand saw two major koro "outbreaks" in 1976 and 1982. The first, which happened in November of 1976, saw over 200 patients were treated at hospitals showing symptoms of "acute anxiety, in some cases leading to fainting, (subjective) shrinking of the penis and impotency in men, shrinking and/or itching of the external genitals..." The Thai people (helped along by the media) came to believe this paranoid episode as an attack on the "sexual vitality and general health of the Thai people."
4. Nigeria
In 1975, reports of men accusing others of "stealing" their penises puzzled psychiatrists and scientists alike. This epidemic swept through Nigeria for a period of two years, ending as mysteriously as it started. The "thefts" began again in the 90s and in the early 2000s, which led to mobs lynching the accused, men and women alike clutching their groins to prevent their genitalia from being stolen.
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5. Middle-Age Europe
A 15th century European text detailed witchcraft and sorcery as being the main reasons for men losing their penises. The manuscript, Malleus Maleficarum, describes stories of men claiming their genitals having been stolen by the devil only to reappear when they had "appeased the witches responsible."
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So what's going on?
Researchers believe that because these cultures place a lot of emphasis on the male's reproductive ability, the afflicted men suffer from crippling anxiety. It also doesn't help that these cultures believe that a shrinking penis leads to impotence and death, which probably adds to the panic.
