Penis Blog

Hard to know just how large a penis is.

The modern story begins in 1942, when American researchers W.A. Schonfeld and G.W. Beebe set out to define normal genital growth and variation in males from birth into their 20s. They measured penis length (using a wooden ruler), circumference (using a series of graded rings), and testis volume (using an instrument called the orchidometer) in 1,500 volunteers of various ages. But it wasn't so easy. And the difficulties that the first wave of researchers encountered continue to render our latter-day interpretation of penis studies a risky business.