20 Little-Known Facts About Nipples

Presented to you in honor of international Go Topless Day.

(Wikimedia Commons)
(Wikimedia Commons)

1. Your nipples and your earlobes are spaced apart exactly the same.

Check in the mirror if you don’t believe me.

2. Pink nipple makeup is all the rage in Japan.

The Japanese, bless their souls, are in the throes of pink-nipple mania. Since Asian nipples tend to be browner, there’s a whole cottage industry where women use makeup to render their nips pinker.

3. No two nipples are alike—just like snowflakes!

Even your own nipples are different from one another. Diversity is a strength!

4. The left one is usually more sensitive.

“Erotic sensitivity” of the nipples is more commonly intense on the left side. Correspondingly, nearly two-thirds of women have a larger left breast than a right one.

5. Some people are born with no nipples.

The condition is known as “athelia,” and there are only about 7,000 diagnosed cases worldwide.

6. Some people are born with triple nipples—or more!

Any nipples beyond two on a human being are known as “supernumerary” nipples. One in every 18 males and one in every 50 women has more than two nipples. This means that there are over 27 million Americans with supernumerary nipples. Mark Wahlberg has three. Harry Styles has four. In 2012, a man in India was found to have seven nipples. In the Middle Ages, anyone with more than two nipples was thought to be demon-possessed. It was also thought that the Devil sucked from their triple nipples. The Devil is a stone-cold freak!

7. Innies v. Outies.

An estimated 10 to 20 percent of women have “inverted nipples,” which means instead of protruding, they actually sink below the areola. They are also known as “shy nipples.”

8. Nipplegasms.

Nipple stimulation affects the same part of the brain as genital stimulation does. A tiny minority of women are able to reach orgasm solely through having their nips caressed.

9. Some nipples get darker during sexual arousal.

This is caused by a rush of blood to the area during sexual stimulation.

10. Then again, maybe she’s just cold.

Although erect nipples can be sign of sexual arousal, they also can get hard merely because it’s too cold. So before you misinterpret her rock-hard nips as a sign that she’s ready to rut, make sure that drafty window isn’t open.

11. Those little bumps on the areola are called Montgomery glands.

These glands were first described in an 1837 scientific paper by William Montgomery. They secrete a white lubricant for the skin, but the reason for their existence remains unclear otherwise.

12. Everyone’s nipples are hairy.

You may not be able to see them with the naked eye, but if you dare grab a magnifying glass and examine, you will find hairs growing on the areola of all adult living human beings.

13. Nipples start developing in the womb before sex organs do.

This is why both men and women have nipples—because they develop in the womb before sexual differentiation does.

14. “The Great Nippulini” has the world’s strongest nipples.

Sage “The Great Nippulini” Werbock has built a career as a “nipple strongman.” His dynamic feats of nipple strength include pulling a 2,200-pound vehicle 66 feet with his nipples. Whatever floats your boat, dude!

15. Some women in Asia suffer from the fear that their nipples will be suddenly sucked into their breasts.

Throughout Africa and Asia, “koro” is a psychological syndrome wherein males dread that their penises will disappear. The female version involves a morbid fear that their nipples will suddenly sink into their breasts, never to be seen again.

16. The nipple-licking drug gangs of Thailand.

In the late 1990s, it was discovered that Thailand’s drug gangs had a widespread practice of having female members smear knockout drugs over their nipples. They would then seduce tourists and ask them to lick their nipples. The tourists would then pass out and be robbed of all their earthly belongings, as well as a huge chunk of their pride.

17. Are you Irish? Then go suck the king’s nipples.

The ancient Irish considered their king’s nipples to be sacred. During royal ceremonies, it was customary for his underlings to suck on his nipples. In power struggles, an opponent’s nipples were often mutilated to prevent them from ever ascending to the throne.

18. Men and infants can lactate.

Newborn infants have been observed with milk leaking from their nipples. It only lasts for a few days. Adult men, especially if they’ve received hormone treatments for prostate cancer, have also been known to excrete milk through their nipples.

19. Nipple cancer is known as Paget’s disease.

Affecting only the areola and nipple, Paget’s disease accounts for between one and four percent of all breast-cancer cases.

20. There’s even a word for having nipples.

That word is “mammillated.” Nearly all human beings are mammillated at least twice over. Thought Catalog Logo Mark


Sources:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.


About the author

Lorenzo Jensen III

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