Penis-Melting Robot Combs

Genital retraction syndrome (GRS), generally considered a culture-specific syndrome, is a condition in which an individual is overcome with the belief that his/her external genitals or also, in females, breasts, are retracting into the body, shrinking, or in some male cases, may be imminently removed or disappear. A penis panic is a mass hysteria event or panic where males in a population suddenly exhibit symptoms of genital retraction syndrome.

Penis panics have occurred around the world, most notably in Africa and Asia. Local beliefs in many instances assert that such syndromes are often fatal. Genital retraction syndrome in Southeast Asia is known as Koro (Malaysian/Indonesian) or Shook yang (suo yang) in Chinese cultures. Psychological diagnosis and treatments are under development. It is becoming increasingly clear that these forms of mass hysteria are more common than previously thought.

The phenomenon is often, but not always, associated with occult belief, such as witchcraft. These panics frequently, but not exclusively, occur in places where access to education—particularly in science and human biology—is limited, or otherwise restricted (for example, when government policies restrict such education). Others have been reported under the influence of drug use.

Sudan

In September 2003, the Middle East Media Research Institute reported an hysteria of "penis-melting robot combs" in Khartoum, capital of Sudan.

Sudanese victims were made to believe by force of suggestion that their penises would melt away after they shared an electronic (or "robot") comb, shook hands, or received a verbal curse. The so-called "penis-melting" has been blamed on Zionists trying to wipe out the Sudanese people by making their men unable to reproduce.

The hysterical reports were spread throughout Sudan by means of cell phone text-messaging.

Local media also contributed to the idea's spread. The Sudanese columnist Ja'far Abbas has warned visitors to avoid shaking hands with "a dark-skinned man". In reference to the electronic comb which was supposed to have caused one man's penis to disappear, Abbas writes, "No doubt, this comb was a laser-controlled surgical robot that penetrates the skull, [passes] to the lower body and emasculates a man!!"

Sudanese police investigated the claims and have found no evidence of anything supernatural, and that it is likely a hoax which victims believed through the power of suggestion. Mr. Abul-Gasim Mohamed Ibrahim, Sudan's Minister of Health, issued official statements to calm the public's fears.

In the Wall Street Journal's "Best of the Web Today," a daily summary of sensational or humorous news, James Taranto wrote a piece about this phenomenon entitled, "Where's the Rest of Me?" in which he coined the phrase "Penis-melting Zionist robot combs."

January Recap

For the sake of posterity, let's take a little peek at what I watched in January:

1. The Shining, Stanley Kubric, USA, 1980
2. 2046, Wong Kar Wai, China, 2004
3. Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, Judy Irving, USA, 2003
4. Criminal Lovers, Francois Ozon, France, 1999
5. Love Me Tonight, Rouben Mamoulian, USA, 1932
6. Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow, Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1963
7. l'Enfer, Claude Chabrol, France, 1994
8. Spirits of the Dead, Vadim/Malle/Fellini, France/Italy, 1968
9. Red Light Go, Ben Barraud, USA, 2002
10. Boyfriends & Girlfriends, Eric Rohmer, France, 1987
11. Damage, Louis Malle, UK/France, 1992
12. Bon Voyage, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France, 2003
13. Head-On, Fatih Akin, Germany/Turkey, 2004
14. Betty Blue, Jean-Jacques Beineix, France, 1986
15. A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1971
16. The Aristocrats, Paul Provenza, USA, 2005
17. Agata and the Storm, Silvio Soldini, Italy, 2004
18. Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubric, UK, 1975
19. The Five Obstructions, Leth/von Trier, Denmark, 2003
20. Elizabethtown, Cameron Crowe, USA, 2005
21. Etre et Avoir, Nicolas Philibert, France, 2002
22. Eva, Joseph Losey, UK, 1962