[Tanada]

We know from studying history that castration of young boys was a common practice in many royal courts and even in the Catholic Church at different times in history. Now scientists have been pouring over records from the past to determine health effects on the eunuchs compared to the population in general. Startlingly enough they conclude that eunuchs castrated before onset of puberty lived on average 14 years longer than their contemporaries who had the same lifestyle. Let us hope that in our modern health crazed culture this doesn't set off a new trend of creating a population of eunuchs, "for their own good".

An extra 19 years to your life in exchange for the family jewels. Sound like a fair trade lads?

I didn’t think so, but a study of hundreds of years of Korean family records has turned up a surprising, if teeth-gritting, tidbit: there’s evidence to suggest eunuchs may live considerably longer than their intact counterparts.

A study published in the journal Current Biology tells that researchers tracked the lives of 81 eunuchs from the Chosun Dynasty, which ruled in Korea from 1392 to 1897, and compared this, the only known complete record of eunuchs’ lives, with the genealogical records of other men of a similar social rank.

What they found was quite astounding. On average, eunuchs lived to be 70 years old, an additional 14 to 19 years beyond the average for non-castrated men.

In fact, three of the 81 eunuchs lived to be over 100 years old which put the rate of “centenarians,” or those that lived for a century or more, at almost 130 times above that of other men.

However, this study did not establish a causal link, and there are caveats: the study didn’t adjust for lifestyle factors like diet and exercise.

Eunuchs in the study were privileged in the sense that the Korean Chosun dynasty used eunuchs for important positions like guarding the palace and managing food stores. In fact, it is likely they were the only non-royal men allowed to spend the night in the palace.

Also, there’s the fact that eunuchs, unable to have children of their own, would often raise young eunuchs. This may have helped refine whatever lifestyle choices they were making that kept them alive and perpetuated the cycle.

However, when not at the palace, the conditions in which eunuchs lived were largely the same as non-eunuch males which means that lifestyle factors may not account for the considerable increase.

Also, there’s the fact that there are other studies that have shown, for instance, that mentally impaired men of more recent times who were castrated tended to live up to 14 years longer.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/oh-nuts-eun ... z29GjaG858

[Pops]

If that goes for dogs, M. T. Balzak is going to have a long, boring life.
Sorry boy.

Or as I said when I quit drinkin, I may not live to be 100 but it'll sure seem like it.

[sparky]

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allegedly , castration before puberty is also associated with keeping one's hairs

[dolanbaker]

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allegedly , castration before puberty is also associated with keeping one's hairs

I'd rather lose my hair!

[SeaGypsy]

Heirs was what he meant (danged dyslexia!).

[Tanada]

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allegedly , castration before puberty is also associated with keeping one's hairs

I'd rather lose my hair!

Personally I suspect we are all past puberty on peakoil.com, but I have been surprised before! Just picture the societal implications if 50%-60%-85% of boys were made into eunuchs "for their own good". I can kindheartedly say I have known a few people in my life who would happily make that choice for other peoples children but not for their own. It wouldn't do a thing to stop the population growth because a sperm bank could impregnate all the women even if only a few men were left to supply the bank.

[SeaGypsy]

Sparky is correct though that eunuchization was done to protect the lineage of the royal class; not for longevity or population control. My reading of it is that the positions available only to eunuchs were so well compensated there was no shortage of volunteers lining up for castration. A eunuch in the family, working for the Emperor, would secure the family's future; besides ensuring said employee would not impregnate the Emperor's daughter or wife (or the Empress herself!)

[Outcast_Searcher]

Nothing like being able to eat to motivate people. Castrati were used to sing the high (Alto? (I don't know if there are male Sopranos)) parts in midevil Catholic choirs in roughly the 13th-14th centuries. (Couldn't let women sing in the choirs, of course). Naturally, they had to do this early enough in life to precede puberty to prevent the voice from deepening.

So presumably (I don't recall, this was a College "History of Music" course 35ish years ago), these people had secure jobs in return for their jewels, and were thus somewhat sheltered by the church.

Since the Church and State shared power and wealth in those days, I guess this was just another flavor of the palace eunuch.

[Tanada]

Nothing like being able to eat to motivate people. Castrati were used to sing the high (Alto? (I don't know if there are male Sopranos)) parts in midevil Catholic choirs in roughly the 13th-14th centuries. (Couldn't let women sing in the choirs, of course). Naturally, they had to do this early enough in life to precede puberty to prevent the voice from deepening.

So presumably (I don't recall, this was a College "History of Music" course 35ish years ago), these people had secure jobs in return for their jewels, and were thus somewhat sheltered by the church.

Since the Church and State shared power and wealth in those days, I guess this was just another flavor of the palace eunuch.

It actually became quite a craze in Italy up until around 1850. The problem was boys were castrated by "barber surgeons" who quite frequently didn't have much of a clue what they were doing and almost never cleaned or sterilized their "surgical" instruments. This lead to an astoundingly high fatality rate from infection, somewhere around 65-70% died within a year of castration. It also turned out that while the Catholic Church did encourage certain soprano boys to get the operation to maintain their high pitch voices they only encouraged the practice for trained musical talented boys. A lot of poor families imitated the practice simply on the theory that if just one boy was brought into the musical field for having a perfect soprano he would earn enough to support his parents in their old age. Unfortunately a lot of the boys who survived the surgery from poor families totally lacked musical talent so in essence they were castrated to no good purpose.

Here is one of the last Operatic Catastrotti who lived long enough to be recorded.
Alessandr Moreschi YouTube

[Outcast_Searcher]

For women, not having children can confer risks.

Cancers of the reproduction system is an example, which I just confirmed with a quick search and a BUNCH of hits from a variety of medical sites.

I'm NOT making any sort of recommendations, just pointing to a data point I'd learned by life experience, re human reproduction and health risk.

[Tanada]

For women, not having children can confer risks.

Cancers of the reproduction system is an example, which I just confirmed with a quick search and a BUNCH of hits from a variety of medical sites.

I'm NOT making any sort of recommendations, just pointing to a data point I'd learned by life experience, re human reproduction and health risk.

Here's the rub in that theory, you are equating not having children as being the same as not going through puberty. Yes mature women who never go through pregnancy have serious risks due to the hormone issues this brings about because their bodies are designed hormonaly to support a growing fetus to birth. The whole pregnancy cycle causes a series of hormonal fluctuation etc etc etc... Eunuchs made so before puberty never experience the massive hormonal changes that convert boys into functionally adult males. Instead their endocrine systems remain paused in a kind of perpetual childhood never developing facial hair, deepened voices from altered vocal chords or any of the other overt signs of "masculinity".

To compare "childless" women the same way you would need to surgically destroy or remove the ovaries before puberty began. I am not suggesting the experiment, just pointing out that a post pubescent female is not an apt comparison to a permanently pre pubescent male.

[sparky]

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A factor to consider is that eunuchs were costly luxury items .
they lived in rich courts environment and didn't engage in warfare or violent sports
hey didn't starve and had the best medical treatment then available

lies ,damn lies and statistics

[Tanada]

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A factor to consider is that eunuchs were costly luxury items .
they lived in rich courts environment and didn't engage in warfare or violent sports
hey didn't starve and had the best medical treatment then available

lies ,damn lies and statistics

While that was true of some court Eunuchs a fair number of the Chinese military officer corps were Eunuchs like the famous Admiral Zheng He. This was not limited to the Chinese either as for example the Byzantine Empire had General Narses in command of Justinian I military. Because Castrato's and Eunuchs had no sex drive to speak of they had a reputation, rightly or wrongly, of being more focused on their jobs.

[dohboi]

To quote Ira Gershwin:

Methuselah lived 900 years
Methuselah lived 900 years
who calls that livin' when no gal will give in
to no man who's 900 years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP5O_NUhrK0

[Outcast_Searcher]

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A factor to consider is that eunuchs were costly luxury items .
they lived in rich courts environment and didn't engage in warfare or violent sports
hey didn't starve and had the best medical treatment then available

lies ,damn lies and statistics

That's interesting. I hadn't even considered that angle, given the all music history perspective I learned about that in.

[Subjectivist]

I would vote for a law that to be elected to office all a politicians children must undergo complete sterilization by removal of the gonads both males and females.

How many are power hungry enough that they would remove the chance of having grandchildren from their own gene pool in order to gain that power? Would Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton agree to their children and grandchildren being sterilized? Would Donald Trump or Jeb Bush? I don't mean just the President, I mean all the politicians right down to your city mayor and council members.

[Tanada]

I would vote for a law that to be elected to office all a politicians children must undergo complete sterilization by removal of the gonads both males and females.

How many are power hungry enough that they would remove the chance of having grandchildren from their own gene pool in order to gain that power? Would Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton agree to their children and grandchildren being sterilized? Would Donald Trump or Jeb Bush? I don't mean just the President, I mean all the politicians right down to your city mayor and council members.

I think that goes a bit far, you would end up with just people who never had kids to sacrifice and megalomaniacs who wanted power so badly they would sacrifice their own descendants to get that power.

[claramax600]

its a quite good read.