The Mysterious Case of King Tut’s Missing Penis

You heard me right, King Tut’s pyramid is missing.  Yuppers, this is a HUGE deal in Egypt currently.  Don’t believe me?  Think I’m making this up?  http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2010/06/29/2010-06-29_rumors_swirling_that_someone_might_have_swiped_king_tuts_penis_because_of_its_ti.html

So it appears that someone took Tut’s tally whacker in order to (a) shield him from tiny pee pee teasing in the afterlife, (b) because living people with small penises didn’t want people to mock Tut for his small penis and took it, (c) some freak on Hawas’ staff took the penis, thinking no one would notice as some freaky keepsake or (d) it’s still there but so small they aren’t seeing it.

I find this story fascinating on so many levels.  Let’s look at this logically.  During mummification, the process removes excess moisture from the corpse so the flesh becomes desiccated.  As the penis has no bone, I would think a penis after mummification would significantly shrink in size.  Also since Tut was 15 when he died, perhaps he wasn’t through growing yet and if he had lived would have gotten a bigger penis.  I have not seen any valid studies in Egyptology that indicated penis size was something to be concerned about in the after life.  If penis size was important, especially for pharaohs, you would think some writings would be found or some spells in the Book of the Dead but nothing.

I do know that when the God Set ripped his brother Osiris into many pieces, the only piece not found by Isis was his penis as it was eaten by a croc so she made him a new one.  Since she is a Goddess and could just create a new penis from scratch I’m sure it was a great penis, a perfect, spectacular penis but no other penis references were made regarding pharaohs and the afterlife to my knowledge.

It does seem likely it was taken in modern times, as we know Tut’s body was not disturbed by grave robbers until modern day grave robber Howard Carter found him.  It seems unlikely he would have broken off Tuts dingle dangle and made an earring or a paper weight out of it.  We know he unwrapped the body (Hey, it was a Victorian parlor game back them) but no account exists that says he played “hide the salami” – literally – with Tut’s weiner.

This leads me to believe someone in the past 40 years or so, took it either as a souvenir or because they felt bad for Tut and his Little Willy.  They felt they were protecting him from ridicule.  But ridicule from whom?  If it was people in the afterlife, wouldn’t they mock him more for having no penis rather than a small penis?  If it was now, would people really care that a dead corpse thousands of years old and dried up like beef jerky has a vienna sausage dick?  You know, I’ve seen the Tut exhibit twice (including the original one with the death mask), have studied the myths of Egypt, read numerous books, viewed numerous documentaries and never once did I think about Tut’s junk.  Hard to believe , I know but not once did it come up in my mind to even contemplate the existence of his mummified bits let alone how big they may or may not have been.

Is this just another example of some men overlaying their own sense of insecurity on others?  Perhaps it is just women having a laugh since the NY and the Times article were both written by women?  Maybe this is a government conspiracy to distract you from alien mind control using robot goats!

No matter which way you look at it, this is a strange time we live in.  To quote Kaiser from one of the comment sections on the articles website, “I took it OK. I use it to stir my martinis.”

Women Making A Difference: Kick Ass Women In History: Queen Elizabeth

Today I am back doing another blog radio interview, this time about Queen Elizabeth.  I will be steaming live at 3:30pm PST.  As always, this 30 minute show will be available for free download from iTunes.  DeAnna Radaj is a great host and this proves to be a really fun show.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/makeadifference

From the website:

In our continuing quest to feature women pioneers, kick a** women who’ve made a difference in for not only their generation of women but for following generations and she-heroes that we don’t know much about…in this episode we learn about Queen Elizabeth I-the Virgin Queen. Elizabeth’s reign is known as the Elizabethan era, famous above all for the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William Shakespeareand Christopher Marlowe, and for the seafaring prowess of English adventurers such as Francis Drake. Some historians are more reserved in their assessment. They depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered,[4] sometimes indecisive ruler,[5] who enjoyed more than her share of luck. Towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity to the point where many of her subjects were relieved at her death. Elizabeth is acknowledged as a charismatic performer and a dogged survivor, in an age when government was ramshackle and limited and when monarchs in neighbouring countries faced internal problems that jeopardised their thrones. Such was the case with Elizabeth’s rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, whom she imprisoned in 1568 and eventually had executed in 1587. After the short reigns of Elizabeth’s brother and sister, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.[2] Our guest is Deirdre Sargent.