Thomas Kirkwood writes in Scientific American about why women live longer than men. Fellas, the good news is that you might be able to increase your lifespan by fourteen years. The, uh, bad news:
Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: NIH
As many dog and cat owners can attest, neutered male animals often live longer than their intact counterparts. Indeed, the evidence supports the notion that male castration might be the ticket to a longer life.
Might the same be true of humans?[...]
The historical record is not good enough to determine if eunuchs tend to outlive normal healthy men, but some sad records suggest that they do. A number of years ago castration of men in institutions for the mentally disturbed was surprisingly commonplace. In one study of several hundred men at an unnamed institution in Kansas, the castrated men were found to live on average 14 years longer than their uncastrated fellows.
Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: NIH
Luckily, we don't have to have parts cut off to give up those dangerous hormones.
Actually, you know what? Screw it. I'd consider it if it would somehow inject 14 more years into my 20's and 30's, but those 14 you're talking about are tacked onto the end.
That's like paying extra for a version of a movie with longer credits.
No thanks.
That's why you need to sterilize the cats BEFORE they reach their sexual maturity.
I'd be curious how would the early sterilization affect the human females.
I would have been more than glad to donate my parts even before puberty.
My wild guess is that the female hormones DON'T protect against e.g. osteoporosis - no children and very few men ever get that disease. And not to talk about any cancers where the hormones play a role.
In addition, the bacteria on the teeth can cause heart disease, best to remove the teeth as well. I can't wait to be a 100 year old man with no tongue, teeth or balls. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!