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German Carpenter's Testicluar Valve Could Mean An On/Off Switch For Sperm

Press2ToContinue writes: A German carpenter has invented a valve which he claims will revolutionize contraception, by allowing a man to turn the flow of sperm from his testicles on and off at the flick of a switch. It (the switch, of course) is nearly an inch long and weighs less than a tenth of an ounce. It is surgically implanted on the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm from the testicles, in a half-hour operation, and controlled by a switch beneath the skin of the scrotum.

So far Bimek is the only man who has the switches implanted, one for each testicle. I wonder what other switches we will see implanted into humans in the future?
I think I'd like a valve for adrenaline control.

287 comments

  1. Those crazy Germans by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 5, Funny

    >> A German carpenter has invented a valve that gets implanted in the most delicate part of your body via a surgical operation

    Seems about right to me.

    1. Re:Those crazy Germans by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

      You'd prefer a Jewish carpenter? (I believe that's called the "rhythm method" of birth control.)

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    2. Re:Those crazy Germans by DarkOx · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, yes a "child of circumcision" does seem more appropriate here.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    3. Re:Those crazy Germans by nigelo · · Score: 3, Funny

      A cut above the rest?

      --
      *Still* negative function...
    4. Re:Those crazy Germans by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I put the stereo on Rhythm and Blues method myself.

    5. Re:Those crazy Germans by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      Whatever turns you on

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    6. Re: Those crazy Germans by pjshane · · Score: 1

      He was thinking out of the box.

  2. Haha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Never godda work. Women are the ones that NEED to worry.

    1. Re:Haha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Feminism ensured that men do the worrying for women.

    2. Re:Haha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Feminism ensured that men do the worrying for women.

      Nah.

      All "feminism" does is drag wussy men down to pansy level.

      Ever notice how the HAWT! women still go for real men? How many candy-ass sitzpinkler metrosexuals are seen with supermodels on their arms?

      Yeah - NONE.

      And how many HAWT! women are feminists?

      Yeah - NONE.

      It's always the ugly ones.

      Yeah, go ahead, you pansies. Vote for the faux-feminist Hillary! Who believes EVERY possible story about men raping women. Well, almost any man. When one man gets accused of rape, Hillary! turns into the worst example of victim-blaming, slut-shaming they're-all-nuts-and-sluts war-on-women witch possible. Who, when flown around when she was First Lady (as if she was ever a lady...) utterly deserved her unofficial callsign of "Broomstick 1"

    3. Re:Haha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh. You can have your HAWT! supermodels. I am so done with superficiality and not-fully-developed human beings.

  3. How about one for tear ducts? by marcvanh · · Score: 1

    It would look like this.

    1. Re:How about one for tear ducts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the image with the valve on the back of the head... is that for shutting off the brain????

    2. Re:How about one for tear ducts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn, that's a depressing take on Valve's logo.
      For the curious, the concept behind the logo is "Open your mind. Open your eyes."

    3. Re:How about one for tear ducts? by Bosconian · · Score: 1

      Depressing or not, that is official Valve art for one of two mascot Valve guys.

      "Open your browser:"
      http://half-life.wikia.com/wik...

      --
      Scarce, scared, scarred, sacred... -Col. Bruce Hampton
  4. Valve + Bluetooth + App = Profit by LeGarcia · · Score: 0

    Add social network status posting and some promotional on two broke girls.

  5. Men can control their stuff with a switch by ClickOnThis · · Score: 4, Funny
    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    1. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      I'm sure this has a high likelihood of utterly failing, being forgotten, or otherwise having a less than perfect track record.

      You might as well to pull it out and hope that works.

      People will forget, or during various ... er ... activities this will get switched on/off by accident.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A less than perfect track record, you say? Well, then it MUST be completely worthless! Just like all other forms of birth control!

    3. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      From what I have heard, women have a way to "shut that whole thing down" anyway...

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    4. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A less than perfect track record, you say? Well, then it MUST be completely worthless! Just like all other forms of birth control!

      No, I'm saying that if the switch is on or off depending on various rubbing of your nuts ... unless there's a blinking light or some other cue to let you know the state it's in, there's a very good chance that at any given point it may not be in the same state you thought it was.

      So, if before and after coitus you can check that it was blinking, and know it didn't change (not sure how) .. great, run wild. You can selectively inseminate.

      But if you can't tell, it doesn't serve much purpose.

      I guess you count have it emit a loud beep when it switched state. Otherwise it's just Schoedinger's nuts. ;-)

      I have no idea if this is meant to be "I can knock up with wife but not the mistress", or you must book several months in advance to have the doctor flip the switch on your balls.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by ClickOnThis · · Score: 4, Funny

      Otherwise it's just Schoedinger's nuts. ;-)

      LOL!

      Or maybe ... Heisenballs?

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    6. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      Or maybe ... Heisenballs?

      And thus began the worst porn parody ever...

      That's right... oooh...aaah... Now... Say my name!
      Heisenballs.
      You're goddamn right.

    7. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 1

      Only for legitimate rape.

    8. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Oddly enough the inventor thought of that obvious problem. It uses a safety switch, which requires that a safety button on the back be squeezed in before the switch can be flipped. Honestly the maneuver looks like it would be rather uncomfortable, especially if any significant force is required.

      Now that's probably still not 100% failure-proof, but unless the design is seriously flawed it's going to be *very* unlikely that the valve ever gets opened by accident, and you'd probably notice if there were any attempt at deliberate sabotage by your partner.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    9. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      And thus began the worst porn parody ever...

      One wonders ... what, precisely, is the standards of evaluating the "worst porn parody ever"?

      I think I'd rather not know.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    10. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Jarik+C-Bol · · Score: 2

      Well, based on what I've been told about vasectomies, its not a "Kids with the wife, not with the mistress" kind of deal, because after you flip the switch, your gonna need to jerk it like 3 times a day for a week to clear out any lingering swimmers in the tubes. So more of a "Book 6 weeks in advance to have the doctor flip the switch on your balls"

      --
      I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
    11. Re: Men can control their stuff with a switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sky! I am the one who cocks.

    12. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by runningduck · · Score: 1

      With two switches things can get confusing. You may switch one on but depending on the state of the other . . . argh! At least with light there is a visual indicator.

      --
      -rd
    13. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >unless there's a blinking light or some other cue to let you know the state it's in, there's a very good chance that at any given point it may not be in the same state you thought it was.

      If you watch the video on the article, it clearly explains that in order to turn the valve back on, it requires pressing a safety button AND flipping the switch. So there is pretty much zero chance that it can be accidentally turned back on (enable through) by accident.

    14. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can you easily tell if it's on or off? Say you get really drunk, switch it off and have sex... and wake up the next morning with no memory of the night before. You think it's on but it's really off. So next time you think you're switching it off when in reality... oops.

      And related to that: how easy is it to accidentally switch it?

      Captcha: organs. Well played, well played.

    15. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      If you watch the video on the article

      I've gone through FAR too much trouble to block and disable all forms of internet videos.

      If TFA doesn't have text, I don't give a crap.

      it requires pressing a safety button AND flipping the switch. So there is pretty much zero chance

      If there's one thing the internet has taught me over the last 20 years or so ... rule #34 pretty much guarantees your "zero chance" is going to be a near statistical certainty. ;-)

      Any sufficiently ... um ... "vigorous and unorthodox activity" ... will always fall outside of what you expect to happen. But the ability to predict the depths of human weirdness is impossible.

      Someone, somewhere is doing exactly that just to get started, and there's probably a video of it.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    16. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or maybe ... Heisenballs?

      And thus began the worst porn parody ever...

      I think it could be the best porn parody ever!

    17. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I have no idea if this is meant to be "I can knock up with wife but not the mistress", or you must book several months in advance to have the doctor flip the switch on your balls.

      I'm pretty sure that when you have a vasectomy it's effect is not immediate, i.e. if you go home straight after the op and have sex you can still get your SO pregnant. So you're right, are you seriously supposed to flip the off switch 48 hours in advance or something?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    18. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      And thus began the worst porn parody ever...

      One wonders ... what, precisely, is the standards of evaluating the "worst porn parody ever"?

      I think I'd rather not know.

      More to the point, who ever watches the non-porn bits of a porn film anyway? It's like people getting awards for costume design or best original soundtrack in the Golden Knob awards (or whatever). Who'd care?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    19. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Altrag · · Score: 1

      Probably not as bad as you'd think since being a parody, it would be the comedic(/comedically terrible) parts you're evaluating rather than the porn itself.

      The few porn parodies I've run across are usually not much different than non-porn parodies other than there being you know.. sex involved. Good ones can be amusing as hell but 99% of the time they're just boring crap running on nothing but weak puns (or whatever the visual equivalent of puns is.. I know there's a word for that..) and you'd be better to watch either a real comedy or a real porn (depending on what you're looking for at the time!)

    20. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      what, precisely, is the standards of evaluating the "worst porn parody ever"?

      I think I'd rather not know.

      Then perhaps NOT ASKING THE QUESTION would have been a good idea?

      I'll try to underline the whole morass that is spreading your way "Circumspice."[ref 85]

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    21. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I've gone through FAR too much trouble to block and disable all forms of internet videos.

      If TFA doesn't have text, I don't give a crap.

      and the comical thing is, someone will accuce you of being a Neanderthal or a Luddite. Do they think a Neanderthal or even a Luddite would be able to block video on an off-the-shelf configuration of a computer?

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    22. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      So, even if I'm vasectomised (which I am), then if my wife genuinely wants sex, I can't stop her getting pregnant, or carrying it to term?

      OK. That does it. Anal only from here on in.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    23. Re:Men can control their stuff with a switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least you didn't bring Occam's Razor into the discussion!

  6. Good idea? by NMBob · · Score: 5, Funny

    Control it from your iPhone and it posts the setting of the switch to your Facebook page. :)

    1. Re:Good idea? by rduncan10 · · Score: 5, Funny

      iBalls

    2. Re:Good idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Control it from your iPhone and it posts the setting of the switch to your Facebook page. :)

      Yes, because there were not enough ways to convey your "status" on Facebook. Now we need to add the "Fertile" and "Non-Fertile" multipliers in there too...

    3. Re:Good idea? by NMBob · · Score: 1

      That's perfect! OK, we gotta get marketing in on this... We'll worry about the engineering details later... I wonder how much bribe money we'll need for FDA approval?...

    4. Re:Good idea? by Spaham · · Score: 1

      Actually, you could imagine a whole set of particle "generators". Like dash emitting sperm, or rain, or snow, or maybe the time of day etc...

    5. Re:Good idea? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      A hacker's wet dream.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:Good idea? by myth24601 · · Score: 1

      iSack

      --
      No matter where you go, there you are.
    7. Re:Good idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Literal definition of having you by the balls.

    8. Re:Good idea? by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Just be careful it can't be hacked.

    9. Re:Good idea? by NMBob · · Score: 1

      Or better yet, through Facebook your "friends" get to decide if you can even reproduce! Whoa! We need to call Mark. I'm sure he will kick in some bucks.

    10. Re:Good idea? by CCarrot · · Score: 1

      iSack

      Ah, the premium version with complimentary ball-warmers! Good idea!

      --
      "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
    11. Re:Good idea? by CCarrot · · Score: 1

      Or better yet, through Facebook your "friends" get to decide if you can even reproduce! Whoa! We need to call Mark. I'm sure he will kick in some bucks.

      Hmm...a bit Orwellian, but...switch doesn't get turned on until your license to reproduce is approved by the government?

      I'd...actually be kinda in favor of this. Especially every time I see those starving kiddie commercials...or see the latest tantrum-fest at my local Wal-Mart, with even-odds on whether it's the parents or the kids making more noise...the world would be such a better place if parents had to make even a token sacrifice before they could conceive, rather than having the current genetic russian roulette model.

      --
      "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
    12. Re:Good idea? by wbr1 · · Score: 1

      This was not how I envisioned the Internet of "Things".

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    13. Re:Good idea? by NMBob · · Score: 1

      Make "survival" irrelevant and this is what you get.

    14. Re:Good idea? by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 2

      Control it from your iPhone and it posts the setting of the switch to your Facebook page. :)

      Finally, a realistic explanation of the "poke" option on Facebook...

    15. Re:Good idea? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Hmm...a bit Orwellian, but...
      .the world would be such a better place if parents had to make even a token sacrifice before they could conceive,

      I know that we don't know enough to make a rational decision about who to allow to reproduce ... so I'd just go for a modified flu virus with a 50% probability of sterility and otherwise low symptoms. So you can drop the fertility rate to 30% or so with random drop outs afterwards. That should sort out the population problem in a century or so. Whether that would be quick enough is a moot point.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  7. Accidentally switching this off during rough sex by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's really that easy to operate, I'd be scared of switching it off by accident.

  8. Re:Bitchiness hormones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Could call it the bitch-switch.

  9. Deja Vu by I_Wrote_This · · Score: 5, Funny

    I remember a report about this (or, more likely, something similar) many years (20+) ago. The Brits on the team called it the Stop Cock.

    1. Re:Deja Vu by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      LOL ... Well played!

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Deja Vu by Dcnjoe60 · · Score: 1

      I remember a report about this (or, more likely, something similar) many years (20+) ago.

      The Brits on the team called it the Stop Cock.

      I, too, recall this from around 20 years ago. I believe, it was tested, but there were complications and it was never developed and other methods of reversible IVDs were developed.

    3. Re:Deja Vu by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I was thinking the same ... was it controlled by magnets?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:Deja Vu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's been much longer than 20 years. Below is an early abstract from 1975 (PubMed). Problems include clogging, infection, leakage, lack of biocompatibility, lack of durability, and lack of true reversibility.

      Kuckuck L, Chhina GS, Manchanda SK.
      Development and initial evaluation of a vas deferens valve.
      Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1975 Jan-Mar;19(1):20-7.

      Abstract

      In 17 cases of vasectomy, the external diameter of vas deferens was found to be 2.07 +/- .27 mm (Mean +/- S.D.) with a range from 1.7 to 2.8 mm. The internal diameters were 0.93 +/- 0.13 at 5 g and 1.24 +/- 0.16 mm at 100 g insertion force applied to the measuring cone, with lumen ranges from 0.7 to 1.2 and 1.0 to 1.7 mm, respectively. The left-right variations in the same inidividual were of a similar order as between different individuals. Measurements in 6-10 kg rhesus monkeys revealed an internal vas diameter around 0.6 mm with the measuring cone only eased in. At considerably high pressure the vas could be distended to show an internal diameter around 1 mm. The external diameters ranged from 1.5 to 2 mm. Local application to the vas in vivo or in vitro of alpha or beta adrenergic blocking agents, and sodium nitrate had no appreciable effects on the diameters. Three types of valves were developed and tested. The tap-like and the rotary valves were not satisfactorily leak-proof. But the valve with stop-cock mechanism was found to be satisfactory. It was further tested by examining the ejaculate obtained by the method of electro-ejaculation after implanting the valve in the monkey vas. The stop-cock valve is being proposed as a working model for producing reversible vas-occlusion.

    5. Re:Deja Vu by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      It was certainly on the market. It was a matter of discussion between me and my doctor when I was in for my ball-docking. He thought that - because I had no children - I might appreciate having the option to turn my balls back on. I rejected the offer then, and rejected the offer to stop after docking one ball. "Sterilised without issue" would be carved on my gravestone - if I were to have a gravestone (undecided as yet).

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  10. It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

    The switch is countersunk and flush to the surface. Sanded smooth and polished with 000 steal wool. How else would a carpenter make one?

    1. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      But is it mortise and tenon, or tongue and groove? Or indeed a butt joint?

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    2. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      You wouldn't use a butt joint here, maybe somewhere else ;)

    3. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Dato joints.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    4. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Where do you get "steal wool" from? ...nevermind!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    5. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 4, Funny

      Where do you get "steal wool" from?

      Contraband sheep.

    6. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      Steal wool comes from Sheap.

    7. Re:It's made of Maple and stained golden oak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just held together with a dowel rod...

  11. Parental Controls by Major+Blud · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can you get these installed in your kids? It would bring new meaning to Parental Controls.

    --
    If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
    1. Re:Parental Controls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dad: "I'm so glad I had 2 boys instead of girls"
      Son: "Why?"
      Dad: "Because now I only have to worry about 2 penises instead of all of them"

    2. Re:Parental Controls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I amgine a mobile app to control it ;-)

    3. Re:Parental Controls by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      Some might thank you.

      Sorry, we're talking about kids. Some might thank you shortly before you die.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  12. Yeah, No! by tiberus · · Score: 4, Informative

    Recall my doctor telling me there would be residual viable sperm around for sometime after I was snipped. Pretty sure you can't just go flippedy flip on the switchety switch and not make a baby with your baby.

    1. Re:Yeah, No! by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, they only say the operation worked if you have a negative test 3 months after.

    2. Re:Yeah, No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Recall my doctor telling me there would be residual viable sperm around for sometime after I was snipped.

      As someone who's getting a vasectomy in 2 weeks and just visited the doctor for a consult yesterday, I can state you're correct. According to the doctor, you have about 2 weeks worth of "stock". 2 weeks basically being a total guestimate based on standard sexual activity for a married man and expected lifespan of your "swimmers".

      After the procedure, you are instructed to get a sperm test performed at 2 months and again at 4 months to confirm a zero sperm count. This is to make sure the vas deferens does not re-attach itself after the procedure. Apparently, something like 1 in 5000 men have that happen.

    3. Re:Yeah, No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We are in basically in the same boat. I'm getting snipped in 8 days. The only difference is that the doc said the chance of a vas deferens re-attaching is something like 1 in 500 patients. And he stated 20 ejaculations before your boys were gone, not a time frame. But still, this switch would only work if it was placed between the urethra and the seminal vesicle.

    4. Re:Yeah, No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As someone who has been snipped (frozen peas are awesome) you are absolutely correct about the "lag" How many people are going to mess this up? Remember, mistakes make people.

    5. Re:Yeah, No! by JigJag · · Score: 1

      You should read the content of the article. It says that to turn off, it takes a few weeks/months precisely because of residual, but once off, it's off no questions asked.
      When you turn it back on, it's on immediately.

      --
      "The hallmark of humanity is the ability to move beyond sensory inputs" - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
    6. Re:Yeah, No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had a non-zero sperm count for at least 6 months after my vasectomy. I was pretty sure the vasectomy had failed at 6 months, but the doctor said he wouldn't get worried until a year. I finally got the all clear after the 9 and 11 month tests came back as 0. This guy was thorough too... I was snipped, cauterized, tied, and clamped with titanium. There is nothing like the smell of fried vas in the morning (or the sound).

    7. Re:Yeah, No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When you turn it back on, it's on immediately.

      Or you're permanently sterile from scaring or antibodies.

    8. Re:Yeah, No! by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      This is to make sure the vas deferens does not re-attach itself after the procedure. Apparently, something like 1 in 5000 men have that happen.

      There should be a money-back guarantee if that happens.

    9. Re:Yeah, No! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      How often do you need to procreate? Seems like you could keep it in the off state 99% of the time. A month or two to make the change wouldn't be a big deal.

      I just wonder if it's worth it. Might be easier to get a normal vasectomy and just keep some sperm on ice.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re: Yeah, No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reattach? That sounds utterly impossible.

      More likely the doc snipped and tied some other (read: the wrong) vessel, and then blaming the failure of the operation on "miracles".

    11. Re: Yeah, No! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      It might sound utterly impossible to you. But you're wrong.

      It is MUCH less common since the addition of ligaturing and/ or cauterisation (burning) to the procedure as well as the "snip", but it's still not unknown.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    12. Re:Yeah, No! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I was told that they'd give you a second operation in the event of failure. But they also stressed that this would ONLY be in response to their test tube tests failing, not to a pregnancy ; a pregnancy would be taken as evidence that you hadn't been continuing to use contraception as instructed until the test tube tests were passed.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  13. So it's reversable at home? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yea, where I see the appeal of such a system, I'm thinking that there just might be some unintended side affects to watch out for.

    Getting the snip the traditional way is a long accepted and relatively painless (Yes I know first hand) procedure. I understand that it's not easily reversed. However, having some system where the decision "to be or not to be" can be made at the drop of a hat might not be all it's cracked up to be. The issue of unintended "to be" settings being selected unbeknownst to the owner of said switch, or the fact that it literally takes a month or so of "not to be" settings before your status really changes might be lost on the casual user.

    However, if you young guys wana give it the collage try, knock yourselves out.... But if you are really done having kids, I really recommend the traditional approach and forget the reversible part.

    1. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Punko · · Score: 1

      But if you are really done having kids, I really recommend the traditional approach and forget the reversible part.

      Yup. Of course, the traditional part is having the wife get her tubes tied during the 2nd birth procedure. That way you even get to avoid the "relatively painless" procedure.

      Mind you, monogamy is still required. If that's not in your cards, then by all means, have your nipper nicked. I'll make a vast difference

      --
      If only we could fall into a woman's arms without falling into her hands
    2. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Real husbands go for the snip... Come on guys, it's not a problem, doesn't hurt and your wife will love you for it.

    3. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Your wife AND your mistress will love you for it!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:So it's reversable at home? by tiberus · · Score: 2

      When the wife decided she was done, I manned up and Did The Right Thing(tm). I read a bit about what's involved in tying a woman's tubes and it's pretty much a no brainer. The risks to a woman are simply too high and it's a much more invasive procedure. Plus if my girlfriend gets preggers, it wasn't me.

    5. Re:So it's reversable at home? by i.r.id10t · · Score: 1

      We asked my wife's OB/GYN - he said "hey, as long as I have her open for the delivery snipping her is just as easy adn quick with minimal or less side effects". Yay planned c-sections

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
    6. Re:So it's reversable at home? by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 1

      I hate to break it to you but that's manning down.

    7. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      When the wife decided she was done, I manned up and Did The Right Thing(tm). I read a bit about what's involved in tying a woman's tubes and it's pretty much a no brainer. The risks to a woman are simply too high and it's a much more invasive procedure. Plus if my girlfriend gets preggers, it wasn't me.

      Having you VD snipped is associated with increased risk of dementia in old age. Not sure it's worth it either to you or your spouse to became a vegetable early.

    8. Re:So it's reversable at home? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Yup. Of course, the traditional part is having the wife get her tubes tied during the 2nd birth procedure.

      Well, on behalf of those of us who have never wanted kids ... I've been pondering getting the, um ... nipper nicked? ... and take it out of the equation entirely.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    9. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      I thought I had read that women find men less sexually appealing when they know the man has had a vasectomy.

    10. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm in the same boat with you.

      I'm married but we are not having any kids... ever. My wife has always done the birth control thing and it's never been much of a problem but the other day she asked me if I would go ahead and get the snip to just make things easier.

      I honestly hadn't ever thought about it but now that she's brought it up I think it's a pretty damn fine idea.

      Anyone out there without kids get this snip? How do you feel about it?

    11. Re:So it's reversable at home? by E-Rock · · Score: 1

      Way to generalize. I wanted to shut down the babymakers, wife wants none of it. We don't want more kids, but something in her is bothered by the idea of having sex with a sterile man.

    12. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So don't tell them?

    13. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Um, it's kinda hard for spouses to not know these things about each other.

    14. Re:So it's reversable at home? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      Surely, by the time they get to the point of asking if the man has been vasectomised, she's already pretty much decided that she wants to have sex with the guy.

      If they haven't already had the "do you want children?" conversation, they're setting themselves up for a trainwreck anyway.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    15. Re:So it's reversable at home? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      What makes her think that she's got a say in your fertility? After all, it's been a cry since the Pill became available that women "want control of their own bodies." So, don't men deserve the same right?

      If she's interfering with your body, shouldn't she be apologising for imposing her opinions on you.

      I told the wife that I was sterilised without issue before we started going out. She has never had the option of having a baby by me. And she has never even tried to persuade me differently.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    16. Re:So it's reversable at home? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      Nope, that's manning up. What are you going to do? Trade in the "full" wife for an empty one, spurt off a handful more of kids, dumping the previous ones on minimum, grudging income and 2 days a year contact?

      Macho bullshit.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    17. Re:So it's reversable at home? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Go back a couple of messages: I'm talking about married couples here. A wife doesn't ask her husband if he's had a vasectomy, she already knows because he did it some time *after* they got married. The problem is, from what I've read, women have much less desire for a man once this has happened. So the wife, after getting her husband to get the snip so she doesn't have to worry about having another kid they don't want, now no longer wants to screw him, and then has a steamy affair with some guy from work who hasn't had the snip, and gets pregnant...

    18. Re:So it's reversable at home? by E-Rock · · Score: 1

      She can't stop me, but if it negatively impacts her desire to have sex, it defeats the purpose.

    19. Re:So it's reversable at home? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      A wife doesn't ask her husband if he's had a vasectomy, she already knows because he did it some time *after* they got married.

      Not necessarily. I had my vasectomy almost a decade before I ever travelled to the country where I met my wife.

      So the wife, after getting her husband to get the snip so she doesn't have to worry about having another kid they don't want, now no longer wants to screw him

      People change. What proportion of marriages last more than a couple of decades these days? Nearly half (though that varies considerably by country).

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    20. Re:So it's reversable at home? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      [SHRUG] From what I hear, having a kid is a pretty effective anti-sex tool as well.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  14. There's still a delay by flanksteak · · Score: 5, Informative

    I got a vasectomy a few years ago and I was told that there were about 20 'loads' in storage past the vas deferens. So this is not something you can switch on Friday afternoon and expect to be sterile over the weekend.

    1. Re:There's still a delay by swb · · Score: 4, Funny

      20 loads? Why don't they just say about 3 days worth.

    2. Re:There's still a delay by amicusNYCL · · Score: 2

      I got a vasectomy a few years ago and I was told that there were about 20 'loads' in storage past the vas deferens.

      OK. Then after hitting the switch you've got some serious work to do before that big date.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    3. Re:There's still a delay by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Funny

      20 loads to blow before Saturday night? I would take that as a challenge

    4. Re:There's still a delay by JudgeFurious · · Score: 5, Funny

      Because some of us aren't hoarding it like that.

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    5. Re:There's still a delay by nuckfuts · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Presumable the decision to produce offspring is not something one would toggle on a weekly basis.

    6. Re:There's still a delay by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

      I expect it'd be more something you'd have installed closed, and only ever open it if and when you decide you want to have children, then close again once your significant other was pregnant.

      It's a shame we aren't at a tech level where we could just genetically engineer disabled sperm production until we injest a specific chemical to trigger it.

    7. Re:There's still a delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suffer from excessive build up beyond what the normal schlep with blue balls can get to the point if I don't keep the tanks constantly empty it solidifies into a gel and becomes very painful. The thought of it backing up even worse is not an option and when kids are out of the picture I'll get implants to replace the jewels.

    8. Re:There's still a delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So I get to switch it off the day I get it, masturbate 20 times, and then have consequence-free sex until I switch back on? I mean, I don't know why you'd ever turn it back on unless you wanted to make a baby.

    9. Re:There's still a delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a shame we aren't at a tech level where we could just genetically engineer disabled sperm production until we injest a specific chemical to trigger it.

      Ingest? Acceptable.

      Inject? You first!

    10. Re:There's still a delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if you have a wife and are trying to get her preggo and a crazy girlfriend on the side that you would not like to get preggo?

    11. Re:There's still a delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or an evening alone with reddit, 4chan or redtube. good times

  15. Nobody has the heart to tell him ... by scunc · · Score: 1

    ... that it's not a good thing to be able to cum at the flip of a switch!

  16. Got wood? by oldmac31310 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just 'came' here to say this

    --
    http://www.acetonestudio.com
    1. Re:Got wood? by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      I think this would "Stop wood".

  17. If the switches malfunction... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    A permanent case of blue balls.

  18. Why did it have to be Germany? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    # Hitler has only got one ball
      Goering has two but very small
      Himmler has something similar
      And poor old Goebbels has no balls at all /#

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Why did it have to be Germany? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Hitler has only got one ball

      You know, I used to think that was just a goofy song made up by schoolkids during WWII, but I recently learned that the US intelligence apparatus actually came up with that rumor. It was in a pretty scholarly book about US propaganda efforts during the war.

      We'd later see the same thing at work in regard to Gaddafi being a cross-dresser and Castro's beard falling out. I would love to have been a fly on the wall at that meeting. "General, maybe if we could just start a rumor about Hitler only having one nut, we could completely demoralize the German people." I guess they were trying to think outside the box, but still...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Why did it have to be Germany? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hitler has only got one ball

      You know, I used to think that was just a goofy song made up by schoolkids during WWII,

      At a fairly young age (14 or 15) I had a case of testicular torsion too, and now only have one remaining.
      It was fairly shocking the percentage of people I told this to who first thing brought up Hitler. I'd guess easily 80-90% or more.

      It is very much a serious thing. In my case I had a two day fever, the second day of which I apparently was tossing and turning in bed. Woke up and within the hour one testicle was swollen to the size of a grape fruit. Immediately went to the ER.

      Apparently you must catch the torsion within 90 minutes of it happening to save the testicle.
      Any later and it will die, go gangrene, and must be removed to avoid dying.

      Some nurse at the time said it was a shame how many men died from exactly this, either too embarrassed to go to the hospital and show anyone, or figuring something like Maybe it will heal itself, I'll go tomorrow if not. Oops, way way too late.

      Additionally at a young age it causes all sorts of hormonal problems lacking enough testosterone.
      I don't believe I have any lasting issues from that specifically, but I had already hit puberty so maybe I was already old enough.

      But I've always wondered if that's why I can't grow a beard worth crap...

    3. Re:Why did it have to be Germany? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > You know, I used to think that was just a goofy song made up by schoolkids during WWII

      There's a reason the troops were whistling "The Col. Bogey March" in Bridge on the River Kwai instead of singing it. :)

    4. Re:Why did it have to be Germany? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      # Hitler has only got one ball Goering has two but very small Himmler has something similar And poor old Goebbels has no balls at all /#

      BURMA SHAVE

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  19. We've had this for ages by dmomo · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's called marriage.

    1. Re:We've had this for ages by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      No, that just stops sex altogether.

    2. Re:We've had this for ages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently not.. I can PROVE I was at least naughty twice after I got married... I assure you, it's been more than that, I just don't have proof.

    3. Re:We've had this for ages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yer 'doing it' wrong.

    4. Re:We've had this for ages by antdude · · Score: 1

      Prove it!

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    5. Re:We've had this for ages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Different mechanism. This one is a straightforward go/no-go operation - short term pain, long term gain. Marriage is a complicated system containing an uncountably infinite number of hidden variables that saps any desire to reproduce or, indeed, will to live. The switch has a recovery time of 20 days with no side effects. Marriage takes years to get over and has crippling ongoing side effects. This has a single, up front price. Marriage will suck money from you indefinitely for no clear reason, even after you have it removed.

      Give me a ball switch any day... it sounds both cheaper and less painful.

    6. Re:We've had this for ages by Talderas · · Score: 1

      You've tested your kids genetically to make sure they're yours?

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  20. Song for the add campaign by raydias · · Score: 1

    They can use ACDC - Big Balls for the add Campaign.

    1. Re:Song for the add campaign by NMBob · · Score: 1

      Now we have to come up with some serious cash to get Iovine away from Apple. This is gonna be BIG!

    2. Re:Song for the add campaign by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      Balls to the Walls

      Accept your future

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    3. Re:Song for the add campaign by maharvey · · Score: 1

      Especially after the pressure builds because you forgot and left it "closed"...

  21. I smell an IOT play coming by linkchaos · · Score: 0

    Wonder when the iOS and Android apps will come to manage this via bluetooth? Perhaps women could get an implant that could be setup to turn off/on the valve based on certain criteria. For example, anytime I'm even near that region it shuts off, potentially sparing humanity of yet another illegitimate child. I say insert them in all young men to a certain age. Darn wish I had one of those many years back.

  22. Apart from the technical concerns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Others have mentioned the potential technical concerns (ie there may be sperm already past the switch, so reproduction cannot be simply turned on/off). My concern though is why someone would want to do this? Most people, so far as I know, if thy want to have an operation to block reproduction, want things to stay stopped. A vasectomy is fairly painless, works pretty well and is mostly used by people who do not want to have babies. Why would someone go through a similar operation knowing that, with the flick of a switch, they could be back to making babies?

    Are there that many people who decide, "Whelp, I don't want to risk having kids! I'll get an operation." And then, a year or two later, think, "Wish I could flick a switch and make babies again?"

    We already have reverse vasectomies for people who really want to change their minds and have more children.

    1. Re:Apart from the technical concerns by TheCarp · · Score: 1

      I think the answer would be people who currently would not get a vasectomy at all, but might if it was easily reversible without another surgery? Perhaps some of those people get one anyway, but I imagine its not really of benefit to the people who already get them, or, if it is, simply would mean they would choose the procedure sooner since they don't need to have children first.

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    2. Re:Apart from the technical concerns by tmetzcc325 · · Score: 1

      It would be used as birth control. You wouldn't need condoms or the pill if you hook up after a night of partying when you're 22, but you'd still be able to have kids in the future. But it would never work from a technical standpoint.

    3. Re:Apart from the technical concerns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My concern though is why someone would want to do this? Most people, so far as I know, if thy want to have an operation to block reproduction, want things to stay stopped. A vasectomy is fairly painless, works pretty well and is mostly used by people who do not want to have babies.

      Those sperm cells being generated don't just magically vanish after the snip; they just wind up staying inside the body and going places they were not meant to be. For example, there was a study that showed vasectomies are associated with an increased risk of certain types of dementia in old age.

    4. Re:Apart from the technical concerns by Talderas · · Score: 1

      If you look at the statistics of men receiving vasectomies they're usually 40+ and have children. Doctors will strongly discourage men that lack either of the criteria away from the vasectomy. 26 and you have a kid but don't want more kids or 45 and no kids? They'll try to convince you not to have the operation. As this procedure is reversible, it would provide a way for younger men to get a vasectomy-like procedure without permanently killing your ability to have children.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  23. Re:Bitchiness hormones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Those switches are software controlled, and these days they're bypassed pretty thoroughly by feminist society before she hits puberty.

  24. Oops, valve partially open by Rogue974 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I work at a chemical manufacturing site. Do you have any idea how many millions of pounds of material are lost each year do to a manual valve that was not fully shut.

    I am sorry babby, I guess when I got hit in the groin last week playing basketball, it must have opened the valve!

    Or,

    I closed it, I guess it didn't close all of the way!

    Yeah, not so sure this is a good idea!

    1. Re:Oops, valve partially open by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      How is this any worse than "Sorry, I forgot to take the pill"?

    2. Re:Oops, valve partially open by Rogue974 · · Score: 1

      Apples and Oranges. Forgot to take the pill was you didn't do something because you forgot and so it couldn't protect you.

      Valve not closing all the way happens all the time when you think you closed the valve all of the way and it didn't seat properly so you tried and the equipment failed.

      The pill has an extremely low rate of failure when taken properly. Valves have a much higher failure rate when used properly.

    3. Re:Oops, valve partially open by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The correct phrase is "Sorry honey, my valve is passing."

  25. Sorry Honey! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Time to buy a crib. Guess we forgot to throw the switch to "No Baby" mode!

  26. I can see the future clearly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only date low tech women, otherwise you stand the chance of them hacking your switch to get the babies.

    These switches are now mandated in fascist country X. Last names Wa-Wo have the switches off until June. Signal broadcasts from central tower to enable/disable switch. Signal isn't very strong and doesn't go through walls, which is why you can see so many naked men on their roofs on signal day. Tin foil becomes temporarily more precious than gold on the day where the "off" signal is sent.

    Military personnel have sperm disabled for the duration of their service.

    Malfunctioning switch, randomly zaps you, need to pack extra pants.

  27. Screw that (pun intended). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Once the Human Brain-Machine Interface tech matures, we will be able to have just-like-the-real-thing sex with virtual women and zero risk of pregnancy, as much as we want without having to pay the women (or buy dinner for them) since they aren't real.

    Of course...a surgery that distributes neuron-interfacing machines throughout the gray matter of the brain is even more invasive than this one....but the potential benefits go way beyond the crazy sex.

    1. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by VernonNemitz · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I first heard of something like this idea long before the Internet became popular. That old story also mentioned a problem, that when the vas is closed, it bursts. This is why when doctors do a vasectomy, they only tie ONE end of each cut tube (the end that leads toward the prostate, not the end connected to the testicle). This invention actually needs a Y-shaped valve, such that when it is closed, only the flow toward the prostate stops, while sperm can continue to flow out into the body cavity, as if one end of the vas had been cut but not tied.

    2. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      just-like-the-real-thing sex with virtual women

      What are you talking about? Fat, smelly, basement-dwelling foreveralones like you have been doing that for years now: it's called free Internet porn and a Fleshlight, followed by snugging up to your waifu-pillow and a large pizza.

      On a more serious note, I can see it now: "It's not my fault she's pregnant, Your Honor, she 'flicked my switch' without my permission or knowledge, when I thought she was just sucking on my balls! I shouldn't have to pay child support!"

    3. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by dmr001 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Most vasectomy techniques involve tying (ligating) or fulgurating (burning) both ends. The vas doesn't seem to burst, but there is a complication called "sperm granuloma" where leaking sperm (often happens) can cause inflammation (also often happens) which can cause pain (doesn't happen that often) and in rare circumstances recanalization of the vas.

      Granted, it's been a while since I performed a vasectomy but I was trained to ligate and cauterize/fulgurate both ends. Surgical implantation of this switch sounds tricky: the vas is a slippery little thing, the canal narrow, and the human body doesn't always take kindly to the implantation of foreign material.

      FWIW, most of the volume of ejaculate isn't sperm, but prostatic fluid. Vasectomized guys are shooting blanks, but it's not easy to distinguish between the blanks and live ammo without a microscope. Check out the grin on this urologist as he explains the same.

    4. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Once the Human Brain-Machine Interface tech matures, we will be able to have just-like-the-real-thing sex with virtual women and zero risk of pregnancy, as much as we want without having to pay the women (or buy dinner for them) since they aren't real.

      Physics simulation is nowhere near level anything remotely approaching realistic close-contact interaction with anything solid would require, and that's not even getting into AI. But if having sex with the ghost of a love doll is your thing, you're set.

      Simply recording and replaying a first-person all-senses-included sex act should work just fine, though. Or having remote sex via the Internet. I guess online brothels will become pretty popular.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    5. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by umghhh · · Score: 1

      what other benefits do you really need?

    6. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by tehcyder · · Score: 5, Funny

      it's been a while since I performed a vasectomy

      I hope to God that You Are A Doctor.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    7. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      where can I download Katniss Evergreen?

    8. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYIFTisAj58. Although before the virtual sex we might still have to take them out to a high class restaurant like Taco Bell.

    9. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by krakelohm · · Score: 2

      Nope, he's a German Plumber.

      --
      You are all a bunch of idots.
    10. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      I concur with DMR001 : when I had my balls deactivated there was definitely a hissing sound and smell of singeing flesh TWICE before the doctor asked if I was really sure and wanted him to do the other side. Then incisions, fishing, clamping (which takes some force to crush the vasa deferens - more force than most people expect. The sound effects are unmissable. Strangely, I've never heard it used in the movies.) and a repeat performance on the right ball.

      Both ends of the cut cauterised. No drainage provisions. Basically, the milligrammes of semen get re-sorbed. I would guess probably by being eaten by macrophages. Really, your wouldn't want the dangerous little things around floating around uncontrolled. That's the whole point of getting your balls docked.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    11. Re:Screw that (pun intended). by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      From what he says, he could perfectly well be a vet. Or a farmer - I doubt that it's illegal to do a vasectomy on your own animals. It's not like they need to consent, is it?

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    12. Re: Screw that (pun intended). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of the best laughs, EVER, on Slashdot.

      You win the Internet today.

  28. It has been tried before by Scarbo27 · · Score: 1

    I saw something like this at least thirty years ago, I think in "Life" magazine. It was a small golden valve meant to be implanted in the vas deferens. Since I have never heard anything else about it in the ensuing decades, until now, I suspect it did not work then, nor will it now. Too bad, it is an interesting concept and it would be nice to have a reliable but easily reversible contraceptive system for men.

    1. Re:It has been tried before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would be nice to have a reliable but easily reversible contraceptive system for men.

      Condoms work and are 100% reversible.... (as in you don't have to wear one...) Not to mention they have other benefits.

  29. Not instant at all by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    Sperm linger in the canal past the point of the valve. It would probably require a couple weeks to allow the sperm to clear after turning the valve off to ensure this was 100% effective. Of course, the sperm count would be greatly reduced just by turning the valve off, but not to zero.

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  30. Re:Accidentally switching this off during rough se by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

    More scared of switching it ON by accident!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  31. Jesus by Spaham · · Score: 1

    The last carpenter who tried this became quite famous...

    1. Re:Jesus by bobbied · · Score: 1

      That would be Joseph to you.... And I'm pretty sure it was Mary who was making the claim not Joseph. Last time I when though the story it was Joseph who was dubious about this and was going to refuse to go through with the marriage to the pregnant girl. At least that's how the recorded story goes. According to tradition, Jesus wasn't involved in fathering any children.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  32. Re:Bitchiness hormones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only if is the switch designed like one of those nuclear launch switches that comes in the off position by default, with the plastic bubble over it with a dual key system to access it.

    And then you take both of the keys and throw them into an active volcano.

  33. This probably isn't something by EdwardFurlong · · Score: 1

    you would be switching on and off all the time. Say you don't want kids in the next 5 or 10 years.

    1. Re:This probably isn't something by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's being marketed to the guys that have a wife and a girlfriend, obviously.

  34. Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    From a male's perspective....

    1) Sex is expensive. Either you are paying a prostitute, which is expensive, or you are dating a woman, which is expensive, or you are married, which is the most expensive (especially when the divorce bill comes around and basically wipes you out).

    2) Sex is time-consuming. Include the time invested in managing one's appearance, finances, etc., in order to acquire a partner, and then further time cost of maintaining that partner. This is slightly less of a problem for prostitution, provided you live in an area where it is readily available and legal (which most don't).

    3) Sex is dangerous. It spreads disease. It makes you vulnerable to charges (false or otherwise) of rape, which can be life-destroying. It risks pregnancy which (if unwanted) can be life-destroying. Prostitution is illegal in most places.

    4) Sex never satisfies. Or rather, the satisfaction never lasts. No matter how much you get, you still want more.

    5) Sex is gross (your opinion may vary, but the more you learn about biology the more disgusting it becomes).

    6) Sex is not necessary. To overcome the desire, just masturbate. To overcome loneliness, hang out with friends. Plenty of research demonstrates that friendship cures loneliness whereas romance does not (and in fact can make it worse). Google it.

    One does not need any puritanical/religious beliefs to see that it is in one's selfish best-interest to avoid sex altogether. The stigma associated with being single is gone. You can more fully self-actualize if you can free yourself from slavery to this instinct which serves the species at your expense.

    No, I am not a gross hairy nerd who can't get laid, so skip the ad hominem fallacies and focus replies on the actual content of the post, thanks.

    1. Re:Just skip it. by mrex · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Plenty of research demonstrates that friendship cures loneliness whereas romance does not

      I call BS. I don't sleep (and I mean actual sleep, not sex) with my friends, and that's one of the best parts about a relationship. Sounds like some researchers spiked their studies with narrow word definitions.

    2. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Sex is not necessary. To overcome the desire, just masturbate.

      If you think masturbating in any obviates the desire for sex, you've clearly had some pretty shitty sex in your time.

    3. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1) Sex is expensive.

      This, a thousand times this. Although Kinsey, Masters & Johnson, Hite, have all revealed the ordinariness of masturbation, it's still not a part of the sexual dialog. The act of masturbation has lost much of its hypocrisy and perverseness but it's still a substitute, an unwanted but comical necessity. Against this, we have the formulaic romance-comedy that admires the passive-aggressive bitch and the stalking ex-boyfriend. The so-called patriarchal society is geared to make the male bear the cost of sex, and of dating, which is a social activity that helps women find a sexual partner. (Women bear pregnancy and and most of the cost of parenting, which, these days, is avoidable.) The biggest example of men bearing the cost is 'I, dated a robot' in Futurama, where men are blamed because women aren't on their backs, getting pregnant..

      6) Sex is not necessary.

      Sex is a basic need that differs to other basic needs: We can delay our need for sex for a moderate time. We can substitute something else (masturbation) for the actual need (copulation). But sex isn't just a bit of sport that provides a brain chemistry high. It's a social activity; a conversation even. Instead of linguistic elements that express every idea, it contains physical movements that express our horniness, our emotional connection to another person and results in a short-lived release, as per point 4. Fucking will continue because of this; not because of the lack of sex dolls. The very existence of sex dolls demonstrate that men want more than a functional release of their sexual energy but not the complete, capricious woman.

    4. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      From a female's perspective....

      1) Sex is biologically expensive. Either you are taking hormonal supplements to disrupt your biological processes to prevent contraception, which is a health risk, or you are risking 10 months of your life flushed down the john for 10 minutes (if you're lucky) of pleasure. And after the 10 months you get to raise some rugrat for the next 16 to 18 years, 'cause heaven forbid the mother handing the brat over to the baby-daddy, signing a support agreement and just walking away saying 'watch for the check in the mail, hon!'. That's not a woman's place in the world, son.

      Or...you can try to convince the asshole you're with that "bareback ain't where it's at", and watch him have a tantrum like a two-year-old (ooh, is that foreshadowing?)

      2) Sex is time-consuming...well, it is if your partner knows what the hell he's doing. If not...well, at least it's quick.

      3) Sex is dangerous. It spreads disease. It makes you vulnerable to rape, which is life-destroying. It risks pregnancy which (if unwanted) can be life-destroying.

      4) Sex never satisfies...well, see point 2.

      5) Sex is gross (your opinion may vary, but the more you learn about biology the more disgusting it becomes).

      6) Sex is not necessary. To overcome the desire, just masturbate. To overcome loneliness, hang out with friends. Plenty of research demonstrates that friendship cures loneliness whereas romance does not (and in fact can make it worse). Google it.

      There, FTFY.

      The stigma associated with being single is gone.

      I really don't know where you get that idea from. I don't recall much of a stigma for single guys, but the 'spinster' image for women is all too alive, I'm afraid.

      Consider this: A single guy in his 40's who's never married is a bachelor, a playboy, a swinger, etc. while a woman in her 40's who's never married is...a spinster. What else? Cat lady? Cougar? MILF? None of these terms have very positive overtones, and some are downright insulting.

    5. Re:Just skip it. by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, exactly. That sounds like it was written by someone with a personality disorder that makes them not really crave human contact (I mean besides sex, though including it as well). There's probably a DSM-IV name for it. The simple fact is: normal people want to be touched. Babies that aren't touched enough either die or develop major personality disorders when they grow up.

    6. Re:Just skip it. by Grishnakh · · Score: 2

      The very existence of sex dolls demonstrate that men want more than a functional release of their sexual energy but not the complete, capricious woman.

      I have to disagree a bit with this one. It's quite possible sex dolls are purchased not by men who are avoiding a relationship with a real woman, but by men who can't get a relationship with a real woman (or a woman they're attracted enough to to bother with). If a man is extremely unattractive, or has a quirky personality that turns off women, then since prostitution is generally illegal, a sex doll may be the only alternative he has to masturbation.

    7. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You call BS without even checking.

      Read up.

      And there are plenty more where that came from. You think this is BS because you are ignorant of the facts.

    8. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Okay, you're not a gross hairy nerd, but are you an engineer?

    9. Re:Just skip it. by Grishnakh · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Consider this: A single guy in his 40's who's never married is a bachelor, a playboy, a swinger, etc. while a woman in her 40's who's never married is...a spinster. What else? Cat lady? Cougar? MILF? None of these terms have very positive overtones, and some are downright insulting.

      I see some really selective stereotyping here. What about the "40-year-old virgin" guy? They made a movie about that 5 or 10 years ago. That guy definitely isn't considered a "playboy".

      And how is a MILF considered "insulting"? That sounds like a compliment to me; usually older women are (were) seen as past their prime, not really someone a younger guy would want sex with. A MILF or cougar is. It's a compliment to women who aged well.

      As for spinsters, I think part of the problem there might be the social circles that women are in. Who's actually calling you (or any women you know like this) a "spinster" or similar? This sounds like a problem largely of these women's own making, by voluntarily being in social circles that have these attitudes. The guy who's a 40yo virgin and hangs out with his nerdy friends doesn't have this problem because all his buddies are in the same boat; they might get shit from their parents but that's about it, and usually 40yos don't live with their parents any more. Remember also, women tend to be much more social than men, and are conditioned that way from early childhood. So older single men seem to frequently end up just living alone and being alone much of the time; they're not around anyone who's going to make up derogatory names for them and their singleness.

      Also, you're absolutely wrong about a single 40yo guy being called a "swinger". A "swinger" is a married person who, together with their spouse, engages in extramarital sex. You've never heard of "swingers parties"?

      But basically, you seem to be looking at George Clooney and assuming he's representative of all 40+ single men, which honestly is rather insulting because most men aren't blessed with his looks or charisma. Most 40+ men who are single are that way either because they're like the 40yo virgin guy (but not remotely as attractive as Steve Carrell; that's Hollywood for you), nerdy and/or unattractive and uninteresting to women, not because they've actively avoided marriage.

    10. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Hey there Mr. armchair psychologist. I see you ignored my request that you skip the ad hominem fallacy and respond to the content of the post.

      Incidentally, you are wrong in your assumption that I don't crave physical contact. I have several friends whom I hug very often. I just don't have sex with them.

      People tend to jump in to the personal attacks, like you did, when they are threatened by the content of the post. What is so threatening about the possibility that you could, if you choose, live a sex-free life and still be happy?

    11. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A woman in her 40's who's never married may be that rarest and choicest of unicorns: a mature, self sufficient virgin who hasn't been ruined by bitterness and divorce, who doesn't have children or the scars that go along with that, yet hasn't "hit the wall" yet either. The maturity of a 40 yr old is much more desirable to youthful foolishness.

    12. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      1. "Dating a woman" isn't particularly expensive, compared with other forms of entertainment. Unless she makes you pay for everything, in which case you should probably dump her anyway, because that's a toxic relationship right there. And "marriage" is extremely cost effective, in terms of shared expenses and labour.

      2. "Include the time invested in managing one's appearance, finances, etc., in order to acquire a partner, and then further time cost of maintaining that partner." - see above. If your natural state is "total slob", then "managing one's appearance" might be a challenge, but for average people it's not that big a deal - most people I know tend to shower and change their shirt most days. "Time cost of maintaining a partner" - again, if you're married, that means "talking to them". This is not a "cost". I like talking to my wife.

      3. Lots of things are dangerous. Driving a car kills as many people as STDs. Pollution kills many more. Sunshine, bad diet, medications, lack of medications... the list of things that can kill you is long. That's not, in itself, a reason to avoid all these things.

      4. You could say as much for eating. How is that even an argument?

      5. Counterpoint: no it isn't. Don't project your hangups into a universal truth.

      6. What do you mean by "necessary"? We could all give up and stop breathing right now, and the world would keep turning just the same - nothing is "necessary" in that sense. You're talking about some, necessarily subjective, quality of life. So again, this is a purely subjective assessment.

    13. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It wasn't broken, and you didn't fix it. However, it is true that sex is just as strange from a female perspective. I am not making the case that it is worse or different for men. I just don't happen to be a woman, so am not speaking to that perspective.

      There has been a stigma against single men, with real professional consequences. Single men are (or at least, commonly have been) thought of as less responsible and less trustworthy than married men. The attitude among married men is that raising a child not only shows reliability, but actually changes a person (forcing upon them a higher level of moral maturity, among other things). Since single guys have not gone through this transformation, they are thought of as selfish, lazy, probably dishonest, and generally not as good a performer at work as their married counterparts.

      That stigma is not as bad as it has been, though probably just because there are a lot more single men now who both demonstrate their employ-ability and who don't make these judgments of each other.

      On a more social level, a single man has been commonly thought of as a romantic failure, once he is past the age of about 35. Before that, he may still be self-indulgently playing the field, but by late 30s any man who hasn't entered into some kind of committed (and presumably sexual) relationship is probably trying and failing. This is also changing, and largely for the same reason: there are too many single men in this age group for that judgment to make sense. And also, this group is joined by many ex-husbands who are quite bitter about their failed marriages and have no interested in trying again.

    14. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your exactly right, too bad more people dont realize this. i myself use my hand and im damn proud of it!

    15. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, I take it you don't know how to satisfy a woman. Most of us do, so why can't you learn?

      Yes, sex is gross, and nasty, and dirty, and disgusting -- IF you're doing it right!!

      Sleeping with a woman (sleeping, not as in sex) is one of the best things about a relationship.

      Women SMELL better. The natural scent of a woman is supposed to make a man desire them. Women also TASTE better (see the first sentence in this post).

      Women are warm, soft, caring, smart, funny, unpredictable, irritating . . . . in short, everything a real man should ever want. Toys and hands don't even come close.

      I've had two wives and dozens of girlfriends. All were better than plain old friends.

    16. Re:Just skip it. by jalet · · Score: 1

      You're so right there's even a french song by Gogol 1er https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/... et La Horde about this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --
      Votez ecolo : Chiez dans l'urne !
    17. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't sleep (and I mean actual sleep, not sex) with my friends, and that's one of the best parts about a relationship.

      To you maybe. To me, I have a difficult time tolerating it. There is no worse feeling than that after sex cuddling shit. That's the last thing I want at that time. What I really want is to get up and go. I don't know where to, just anywhere but being hot (physically, not sexually), sweaty, pressed up against someone else who is in the same condition and the feeling of being trapped. I don't care if I go out or just have my own nice, cool bed that I can stretch out on, I absolutely hate cuddling and I hate sharing a bed when I'm trying to sleep.

      I'm sure others feel the same as I do, so I'm calling BS on your BS.

    18. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YEP!

      Sharing a bed with someone means waking up every time they roll over, or talk in their sleep, or enduring their complaints about you waking them up by rolling over or talking in your sleep....encountering their under-the-cover farts, their bad breath, their body odor, etc.

      And the body heat is too much. I cannot sleep in the presence of that heat.

      Maybe it is a human instinct to sleep in groups. I don't care. And I know others who also don't care. One of my friends sleeps in a separate bedroom from his wife of 7 years, and they both like it that way.

      Togetherness is for when you are cleaned-up and socializing, not for when you are trying to sleep.

    19. Re: Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      True, but an amazing sex robot of some sort might greatly increase time between real sex saving money.

    20. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Masturbating is better. I don't have to pretend I want anything more than release. It's quicker and cleaner with no guilt or strings attached.

      Masturbation gives me a 100% clear conscience and lets me spend more time on the important things in life.

    21. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      4) Sex never satisfies. Or rather, the satisfaction never lasts. No matter how much you get, you still want more.

      It certainly does satisfy me. Definitely satisfies her, I'm somewhat jealous as she seems to get more out of her climaxes than I do.

      6) Sex is not necessary. To overcome the desire, just masturbate.

      The satisfaction never lasts. No matter how much you get, you still want more. At some point no amount of masturbation is going to satisfy as your body and mind want the real thing.

      The stigma associated with being single is gone.

      I really don't know where you get that idea from. I don't recall much of a stigma for single guys, but the 'spinster' image for women is all too alive, I'm afraid.

      Consider this: A single guy in his 40's who's never married is a bachelor, a playboy, a swinger, etc. while a woman in her 40's who's never married is...a spinster. What else? Cat lady? Cougar? MILF? None of these terms have very positive overtones, and some are downright insulting.

      Well by definition to be a MILF she has to have at least one kid, also she can be married or divorced and still be a MILF. A Cougar however never married.

    22. Re:Just skip it. by Shompol · · Score: 1

      1) Sex is expensive....you are married, which is the most expensive

      Unless your wife makes more than you do. What do you need money for, anyway? Cannot take it to your grave.

      2) ...Include the time invested in managing one's appearance, finances, etc.,

      And normally you don't need to manage either? Might save on rent as well in #1 and move into a cardboard box.

      3) Sex is dangerous.

      Do it with a steady GF or your legal GF. Avoid putting it in other men if you can help it.

      No matter how much you get, you still want more.

      Do it daily or something? Add a productive use of lunch hour?

      5) Sex is gross

      So is eating, pooping, and beings made of meat

      6) Sex is not necessary.

      it is not

      friendship cures loneliness whereas romance does not

      Unless your SO is also your friend, which makes the whole "research" kinda meaningless

      One does not need any puritanical/religious beliefs to see that it is in one's selfish best-interest to avoid sex altogether.

      Completely true. And that is why we don't put it into everything that moves. However, if you go overboard with it your self-interest might come to an untimely end with nobody to take the flag -- which still is a perfectly valid choice.

    23. Re: Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To me it seems like sex is consuming quite a bit of your time. You seem to have some fixation about it. Perhaps because you never had sex or you have it less than average and it hurts your feelings.

      Normal people don't spend excessive amount of time wondering about sex, it just happens and it is usually very pleasant and exciting. It is one of the best ways to really get close and get to know someone. It is not like you describe a quick release of pressure, that is just silly.

    24. Re: Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The content of your post is the result of a social reject making a life's philosophy out of his misery instead of fixing it. How the hell am I supposed to reply on things that are INSANE. Really, you should get a girlfriend.

    25. Re:Just skip it. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Sex isn't expensive. It's just part of the package when you have a relationship. Relationships are important to most people. If friendship was enough or better we wouldn't have "incels" complaining that the government doesn't get them laid.

      I think your mistake is to look at sex s something that fulfills an urge. Like you need to pee or something. It's not, but that's why you have such s low opinion of it.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    26. Re: Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Normal people don't spend excessive amount of time wondering about sex

      Of course they do.

    27. Re:Just skip it. by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      SSRI can do that, though. The desire just goes away and it makes life much much easier.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    28. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That sounds like it was written by someone with a personality disorder that makes them not really crave human contact.."

      What? People who crave human contact are the ones with the disorder, dumbshit. Its called insecurity.

    29. Re: Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Normal people don't spend excessive amount of time wondering about sex, it just happens and it is usually very pleasant and exciting. It is one of the best ways to really get close and get to know someone"

      Sex doesnt "just happen" any more than being drunk "just happens".

      And if you have sex with someone ~before~ you have really gotten to know them, you are playing Russian roulette.

    30. Re:Just skip it. by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a typical Slashdotter of today. I guess all the normally-adjusted humans have abandoned this shitty site.

    31. Re:Just skip it. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I am not a gross hairy nerd who can't get laid

      No, fairly obviously you are a gorgeous hunk with autism, a combination of Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise and Dustin Hoffman in Rainman.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    32. Re:Just skip it. by tehcyder · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I see you ignored my request that you skip the ad hominem fallacy and respond to the content of the post.

      The thing is, the content of your post was a combination of "I'm a special snowflake" adolescent cynicism and retarded MRA talking points.

      It's only the ad hominem part that's amusing.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    33. Re:Just skip it. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Sex is not necessary. To overcome the desire, just masturbate.

      If you think masturbating in any obviates the desire for sex, you've clearly had some pretty shitty sex in your time.

      Or some pretty special wanking.

      Actually, I don't find it hard to believe that a slashdotter would get more pleasure out of masturbation than sex, it's a matter of practice makes perfect.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    34. Re:Just skip it. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Masturbation gives me a 100% clear conscience and lets me spend more time on the important things in life.

      Those Star Wars figurines won't collect themselves.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    35. Re:Just skip it. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Also, you're absolutely wrong about a single 40yo guy being called a "swinger". A "swinger" is a married person who, together with their spouse, engages in extramarital sex. You've never heard of "swingers parties"?

      This is slashdot. GP is using the term in its 1950s sense, the golden age when men were men, women were grateful and sheep were worried.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    36. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that you, Sheldon?

    37. Re:Just skip it. by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I call BS. I don't sleep (and I mean actual sleep, not sex) with my friends, and that's one of the best parts about a relationship.

      Speak for yourself. After 10 years of marriage, I still find having someone else in the bed to be very uncomfortable. They move around (disturbing you), make noises (disturbing you). Apart from the sex, sharing a bed is a real pain in the bed.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    38. Re:Just skip it. by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Or they're brought for a joke.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    39. Re:Just skip it. by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I don't recall much of a stigma for single guys, but the 'spinster' image for women is all too alive, I'm afraid

      So, you're arguing for polygyny? Suits me. Take the women who want babies and a husband off the market so the rest of us can concentrate on our sex lives.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    40. Re: Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In high school, we were told men think about sex between every 10 and 60 seconds. I forget about women. That's not a lot, right?

    41. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The sheer fact that you stated that you aren't a gross hairy nerd who can't laid suggests that you are in fact a gross hairy nerd that can't get laid. Guilty dogs bark first.

    42. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have the opposite problem. The SSRI is killing my ability but not the desire which is a BILLION times more frustrating.

    43. Re:Just skip it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not a gross hairy nerd who can't get laid

      Frankly, I don't believe you. People who choose celibacy just choose it, they don't need to list 6 spurious reasons why it's their "choice" to not have sex. Nerds are so transparent. They don't get that people can read between the lines, and they hate it when they do. You even tried to pre-empt that happening because it's obviously happened so many times before, but (for example) the fact you even mention prostitutes shows that you're a gross nerd who can't get laid. In fact prostitute is your very first example of a sexual partner in your very first point which is how "expensive" sex is ... if you have to pay prostitutes (and then some BS about relationships which is objectionably sexist but I'll let that slide since it clearly comes from a person who has no experience of relationships).

  35. Pull Out by sexconker · · Score: 0, Troll

    Just pull out. It works if you're not a retard.

    1. Re:Pull Out by Fwipp · · Score: 1

      Have you touched a penis before? Do you not know about precum?

    2. Re:Pull Out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scientifically proven to be wrong.

    3. Re:Pull Out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SO not true. OMG. Go learn some basic biology....

    4. Re:Pull Out by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      No, but the other head sure is retarded. Babies happen, stupidity wins!

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    5. Re:Pull Out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some of us don't precum. Pull out has worked for 30 years now and I ain't changing it!

  36. Hearing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Personally, I would like to see a hearing switch, to stop all noise at will.

    Better if it's doesn't consist of turning a part of the brain or a nerve off only: I would like the ear's hearing mechanism to also stop working temporarily, to save hearing cells.

    Noise cancelling headphones give me headaches; white noise works but leaves me deaf-er, both in the short term (very noticeable) and in the long term (loud-ish noise straight into my ears).

    1. Re:Hearing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Personally, I would like to see a hearing switch, to stop all noise at will.

      I don't understand why you'd want a hearing switch on your dick. Or maybe I've lost the thread here.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  37. So how much it weights? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tenth of an ounce? So thats about fifth of an half boiled but frozen chicken egg?

  38. Re:Accidentally switching this off during rough se by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wait... by off I meant switching the blocker off. I guess I meant on.

  39. Adrenaline by m-kirkcaldie · · Score: 2

    "I think I'd like a valve for adrenaline control." (a) no you wouldn't, it would be like cutting off half the internal regulation system which allows your body to work efficiently in sync with current and anticipated demands - literally, mission-critical regulation - and (b) the *experience* of adrenaline / arousal is generated by a separate system which distributes adrenaline around the brain - the adrenaline in your bloodstream comes from the adrenal gland and activates the tissues of the body, but the adrenaline in your brain is generated by a cluster of neurons called the locus coeruleus, and they secrete it directly onto the neurons. No way to shut that off except using drugs which block receptors (i.e. beta-blockers and related compounds).

  40. sock poetry by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    In days of old, when knights were bold,

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  41. Good Idea! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't see anything going wrong with this... Especially when there's a rocker switch in there.

  42. What does this change exactly? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Get a woman pregnant and you're financially responsible for her for the next 18.75 years. Notice I said 'her' and not 'your children' because that's where all the child support goes. It's a meal ticket for tens of millions of women who don't feel like supporting themselves in any way whatsoever. These women don't want to be housewives either, they'd rather just get knocked up, kick you out of your house and start collecting a check from you.

    If this device isn't at least as effective as a condom in preventing pregnancy, it's worthless.

  43. Clap On/Clap Off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm waiting for the one with "Clap On/Clap Off"...lol

  44. Clap-On Clap-Off... The Clapper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or is it: Jerk-On Jerk-Off... The Jerker. BTW, what happens to your load when it's turned off? I'd hate to be in the wrong place and have an explosive depressurization if the switch failed.

  45. A whole new meaning by CCarrot · · Score: 2

    Wow, that just brings a whole new meaning to that sudden panicked thought "wait...did I leave the faucet running?!?"

    --
    "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  46. Adrenaline control? by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    The main thing I learned in my endocrinology classes in dental school was this: hormones are nothing to screw around with. They affect so many different things and messing with them causes so many unintended consequences, it is best not to play around with them unless there is a medical reason to do so.

  47. Four thoughts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. I think the default should be closed. That way having a baby would be a conscious choice. Very awesome.

    2. How likely is it that someone could trip it either accidentally, or on purpose? No not all people would do this but some would and should be addressed.

    3. Would it be logged (internally into a non editable log)? Seriously we can almost fit a terabyte in an sd card so why not just keep appending to a log with no editing?

    4. Power source/failure rate? Simplicity is better. It does not need to go off and on all the time, just reliably. Given the refractory period this is not as huge an issue if the power source needs to "recharge" maybe an hour at minimum?

    1. Re:Four thoughts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oops.
      5. How would we know it was working?

  48. Carpenter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this guy know anything about biomaterials? Biocompatibility? Rheology? Multi-phase biofluids? Durability?

    Probably the reason it hasn't been patented is that, in 40 years, no one so far has gotten one that works -- even people who are a little tiny bit more qualified than this guy.

    This isn't rocket science. It's more difficult.

  49. on vs off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I really hope there's a good way to differentiate "on" vs "off"....

  50. Thanks just the same but, by fredrated · · Score: 1

    no.

  51. Testicluar? by bestweasel · · Score: 2

    Editors don't have a testiclue.

    1. Re:Testicluar? by Opyros · · Score: 1

      I wonder whether this device contains a nozel.

  52. Trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... implanted on the vas deferens ...

    While sperm are supposed to be short-lived cells, I thought it took several weeks to empty the vas deferens of sperm. So this solution won't benefit the cheating husband. Which raises another issue; it's not practical to trust a stranger to provide invisible birth control. Women suffer greater consequences for ignoring birth control, so they are more likely to take responsibility. Women though, can choose to keep the pregnancy and to keep the baby: Men don't get that choice, they just get a bill for an unwanted baby. So there's incentive for men to get this, but not for women to trust it.

  53. A clever male torture device by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Something to block sperm from being discharged, and keep them all in the testicular area, causing tremendous discomfort and a huge urge to have sex even more frequently? And causes the immune system to attack and destroy sperm? Like a vasectomy only one you can disable or enable at will??? This is BRILLIANT!!!

    Now you can turn off the torture and turn it back on any time you want!

    1. Re:A clever male torture device by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      News flash from those of us who have had a vasectomy: you don't really feel anything. The pressure you feel building up comes from the prostate, that tube stays clear bro.

  54. Makes sense by DavidHumus · · Score: 2

    You should always choose a carpenter for working with wood.

    1. Re:Makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      carpenter working on wood. news at 11

  55. Heart Plugs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder what other switches we will see implanted into humans in the future?

    For the Baron's pleasure.

  56. Stop Cock was good, but by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 1

    wouldn't "Ball Valve" be a more accurate plumbing pun?

    --
    Remember "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters"? Help make it a reality again! http://soylentnews.org
  57. Re:Bitchiness hormones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Herp a derp misogyny, AC

  58. Leave your balls alone. by seoras · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I had 2 kids with my ex wife who then nagged me into getting a vasectomy.
    It's very easy, easier than going to the dentist for a filling in fact.

    However I then started getting pain in my nuts.
    You see they tie off your vas and the sperm has no where to go - think of the car chase scene in the Blue's Brothers with all the cop cars piling up on top of each other. That's your epididymis swelling up with all the sperm piling up.
    This German inventor's idea doesn't solve this problem however it does allow you to switch back on if you do get congestive epididymitis.

    After I split with her I had it reversed.
    2 hours on the table and a couple of big black grape fruits the next morning.
    3 months for the bruising to fade.
    I timed it to be when I was writing my thesis for my masters. Plenty of quiet, sitting down working time.

    I've now got 5 kids and no.6 due in March. Pisses my ex off no end.
    I still, occasionally, get congestive epididymitis.

    Interesting fact. Vasectomy is illegal in France. Smart country.
    The only positive was it raised my Testosterone level to somewhere near where it was when I was 16.
    Going back to University for a year, single, sterile and horny as a teenager made for a very memorable time in my life. ;)

    As a war veteran of vasectomy my advice is this.
    Leave your nuts alone to do what they are supposed to do!

    1. Re:Leave your balls alone. by phorm · · Score: 2

      Not all of us want six kids (or to abstain for the rest of our lives), especially when we're hitting over forty or fifty. In most couples I know of it's a mutual decision.

    2. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting fact. Vasectomy is illegal in France. Smart country.

      No it isn't - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasectomy#Availability_and_legality

      I had one last year, back at work the next day and no problems since. YMMV

    3. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doing your bit to solve the overpopulation of the planet I see!

    4. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Leave your nuts alone to do what they are supposed to do!

      I followed your advice and my girlfriend is pregnant, wife is not impressed.

    5. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Vasectomy is NOT illegal in France. This is a legend. It is hard to get but you can perfectly get it if you know a urologist who practices it. Talk to "planning familial"...

      (source: anonymous French person)

    6. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the part I don't understand. I'm in my 40s, and I just use birth control (either condoms, or sometimes my wife uses the pill, but I dislike when she does because there are some side effects).

      It's really not that hard to use birth control, even when you're older. I will never get a vasectomy because I disagree with the risk:reward ratio. I have kids (had them when I was in my 30s), and have never had an accidental pregnancy with any partner, ever.

    7. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I wanted to fuck a tire, I'd fuck a tire. I can't keep a hardon with a condom. Can't feel shit. Even those thin skin ones.

    8. Re:Leave your balls alone. by phorm · · Score: 1

      Ditto here. Or rather, I do have feeling, but it's a whole lot less.
      Our bodies are built to (in general) make sex an enjoyable experience. With a condom you're getting some of the thrust and friction, but missing out on a bunch of the rest

    9. Re:Leave your balls alone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I call bullshit. If you've used any ultra-thin condoms (such as Life Styles), there's no way you can feel a difference unless your dick is actually a finger capable of that minute sort of feeling.

      This argument is usually used by guys who used shitty Trojans, or who are just against condoms but haven't used them in the last decade.

  59. But But Thats anti-feminist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's taking away womens control over their own reproduction!

  60. Actuated with a wooden mallet. by dsmatthews9379 · · Score: 1

    Ah, no thanks...

  61. Re: Accidentally switching this off during rough s by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can forsee future farces playing out in the courts.

  62. Re:Accidentally switching this off during rough se by aXis100 · · Score: 1

    Watch the video, it has a locking pin to prevent the flow being switched back on accidentally. Unlocking it requires a double action of depressing the pin and activating the switch.

  63. Motorcycle by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    The other day I went for a motorcycle ride.. I'm not sure if it is the case for all motorcycles, but on this motorcycle there is a switch that turns on a final 'reserve' tank so that you know you need to go pronto to get gas. Well I went for a motorcycle ride and I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. With great vigor I went to switch to my reserve tank only to find that it already WAS on the reserve tank.

    And that, my friends, is why I would never want to have this procedure.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    1. Re:Motorcycle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The last time I tried the reserve switch it was already empty. I pushed that hog 5 miles to the nearest gas station.

  64. Re:Accidentally switching this off during rough se by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oof, sounds... painful. No need to see the video, I'll take your word for it. :p

  65. Forget the arguing. by BrandonDouglasGoken · · Score: 1

    Can I volunteer for this in the USA? If so how?!?! It's brilliant.

  66. Forget the arguing by BrandonDouglasGoken · · Score: 1

    Where can I volunteer for this human research in the USA?

  67. A corpus callosum switch... by Chysn · · Score: 1

    ...would be a fascinating experience.

    --
    --I'm so big, my sig has its own sig.
    -- See?
  68. Beep by phorm · · Score: 1

    I like the beep idea. If the switch is on the (sperm) enabled setting, a gradually increasing warning tone.

    Beep. Beep beep . Beepbeepbeep, beebeebeebeeeeeeeeeeeee.... (aaand I'm spent).

  69. Re:Bitchiness hormones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh noes!!! Words on the internet offended me!

    Call the feminists to bitch more to fix this injustice!

  70. I don't need .... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... to shut it off. Just turn down the flow a bit.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  71. Shocked not to see the expected pun. by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    Something is wrong with you people!

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  72. He can't maintain an erection with a condom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe he should find a girlfriend that he actually finds attractive then...
    How pathetic are men who can't wear condoms because they aren't sufficiently turned on, and confident with, their own girlfriends/wives.

  73. sperm switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Baby maker...ON! No OFF! I meant OFF!

  74. Star Trek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kirk: Set penises on stun.

  75. gives a whole new meaning...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to being "turned on"

    or turned off of course.

  76. Power source by codewhisperer · · Score: 1

    Hmm... I wonder if the testicluar valve is nucular-powered?

  77. new meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yo dawg I heard you liked contraceptives, so we put some contraceptives in your contraceptives so you could contracept your contraceptives ...