Why do men have nipples?

I was asked this question recently and could give no real explanation.

Could anyone try and enlighten me and the person who asked me the question in the first place?

Originally posted by Bikereddie
I was asked this question recently and could give no real explanation.

Could anyone try and enlighten me and the person who asked me the question in the first place?

I'm not sure but i believe it is because nipples are already forming before the gender of the baby is decided in the womb. Thus men don't have.... functioning nipples.


[Edited on 2-11-2004 by UK Wizard]

i thought that, but why do we end up with them if they are of no use?

Originally posted by Bikereddie
i thought that, but why do we end up with them if they are of no use?

When the gender is decided we already have nipples, there is no advantage in getting rid of them.

[Edited on 2-11-2004 by UK Wizard]

That question came up yesterday in a conversation I had with KayEm. We had just watched the scene in 'Meet the Parents' where 'Gaylord Focker' said that you can milk anything with nipples De Niro's character replied 'I have nipples, can you milk me ?'

This is about as close as I could get to an answer ...

It seems that human embryos develop mammary tissue before they bother to check on whether they're going to be male or female and start modifying the basic plan with surges of this or that hormone. After only a few weeks, milk ridges form -- two stripes of tissue that start in the armpits, curve out over the chest, go straight down the stomach and then veer in toward the groin, ending somewhere high on each thigh. Later the milk ridges regress to some extent, usually leaving us with just two nipples.

www.salon.com...

[Edited on 2-11-2004 by Pisky]

What about if you have four?







Just wondering.

Originally posted by JAK
What about if you have four?

From the same site :

Quite a few people end up with an extra, or supernumerary nipple somewhere along the trail of the milk ridge, however. (One man had five.) Sometimes they can't be mistaken for anything but a nipple, and other times they look like a mole. In fact, many people with supernumerary nipples don't know they have them until some officious and informative person starts examining their moles.

Originally posted by JAK
What about if you have four?

Just wondering.

well the world would proberly be a completely different place if evolution has chosen four nipples instead of two nipples.

The bra industry would certainly get more revenue.

FOUR??????

I would think that is pretty remarkable.

how do you cope with FOUR?

I knew a girl with three whilst at school. (i was 16 at the time, so well above the legal age in the UK)

What I'm wondering is; how many nipples does the Pisky baby have?

i think its because, women have the double X chromosomes and men have the XY chromosomes..every men has a little piece of woman in his body?
thats my theory...nevermind

Good answer dacruz

I got the female side inside me somewhere. It only comes out once a week when i do the cleaning , ironing etc etc, lol.

seriously though, good reply.

[Edited on 2-11-2004 by Bikereddie]

thanks!..during their joint lives..and dont grow to big breasts

That could also be why some guys have big dicks and some don't. They start forming girl properties, but then when the gender is chosen it goes back to forming into a guy.

Just a thought......

Humans aren't perfect. Sure it would be more practical if humans developed nipples before the gender is chosen. But hey were far from perfect, I mean we constantly kill each other for little reason, that and were physically weak.