5 SEC READ: Napoleon’s penis

by Paulo Coelho on May 30, 2010

by By Christopher Shay

People have been fixated on Napoleon’s penis since Napoleon’s doctor allegedly cut it off during his autopsy in 1821 and gave it to a priest in Corsica. The penis, which was not properly preserved, has been compared over the years to a piece of leather, a shriveled eel and to beef jerky. In 1927 when it went on display in Manhattan, TIME weighed in, comparing it to a “maltreated strip of buckskin shoelace.” It’s enough to give anyone a complex! In 1977, a urologist living in New Jersey purchased the modern-day relic for $3,000 and stored it under his bed until he died 30 years later. His daughter inherited Napoleon’s penis and has fielded at least one $100,000 offer.

To read the full article in TIME magazine >>>> Top 10 Famous Stolen Body Parts

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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }

Carolena Sabah June 12, 2010 at 9:28 pm

Napoleon was scared of cats.

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Olta Ana June 13, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Now this is interesting Carolena.
I am wondering about how come?
I have some ideas on that but those are just my theories. :)

Love

hugo June 8, 2010 at 1:04 pm

i would not give a single penny to that penis..hahah

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Joe June 4, 2010 at 10:22 pm

(School – Mr. Ryan’s Class)
Mr. Ryan: Bill, I’m waiting.
Bill: He’s dead?
Mr. Ryan: So Bill, what you’re telling me, essentially, is that Napoleon was a short, dead dude.
Bill: Well yeah.
Ted: (quietly to Bill) You totally blew it, dude.
Mr. Ryan: Ted, stand up.
Ted: Stand up?
Mr. Ryan: Yes son, stand up. (Ted does so) Now, who was Joan of Arc?
Ted: (thinks) Noah’s wife?
(The bell rings for the end of class.)

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THELMA June 4, 2010 at 9:48 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AphroditeAphrodite (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη, IPA: [apʰrodíːtɛː]; English: /ˌæfrɵˈdaɪtiː/; Latin: Venus) is the Greek goddess of love, beauty and sexuality.

According to Greek poet Hesiod, she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus’ genitals and threw them into the sea, and from the aphros (sea foam) arose Aphrodite…

It seems that the most famous and important ‘genitals’ in the history of Man are those of URANUS from which Aphrodite was born. The Cyprian Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality.
LOVE,
Thelma xxx

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Joyce June 4, 2010 at 2:19 am

The doctor should have been chastized if he wasn’t the the priest—what was he thinking- saving it for posterity? Ridiculous.

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Katta Contreras June 3, 2010 at 9:30 am

Interesting!!!! hahaha…. Kinda sick don’t you think? I had no idea but Napoleon & Rasputin i’m sorry 4 you guys. RIP (without penises) Have a gr8 day everybody!! Lol Katta Contreras

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kealan June 1, 2010 at 1:51 pm

Something people may not know – when an autopsy is preformed it is usual that a part is kept… in most instances it is the appendix. But you would think that is somebody cut a part off that they would at least try and preserve it! Also another famous penis which was cut off was Rasputin’s, reading this article you will learn it was worshiped! (OMG) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasputin%27s_penis

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Olta Ana June 1, 2010 at 7:33 pm

This is shocking! If I only think of two members of my family… EWww!!!
I definitely want my body to be burned after I die. I’ve thought about this possibility and I think that it is better. Why should I have my body preserved in a tomb when I can be useful to the nature and definitely not being object of…
I didn’t know this, really!

Pandora June 3, 2010 at 9:24 pm

& Osiris’

zee June 1, 2010 at 1:01 pm

… don’t know what to make of that. I say bury it and forget it. It’s embarrasing that it’s still around.

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Ciphur May 31, 2010 at 11:59 am

I find this humiliating !
Didn’t expect this piece of news to be receiving so much importance on your blog.
Any man dead deserves as much respect and dignity as a person alive.
And why make a mockery of someone,who could not defend himself or his body,simply because being dead ,he has NO power to do so !

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AllaSobirova May 31, 2010 at 7:23 am

com’n this is too much!!!!!!!

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Tree May 31, 2010 at 5:33 am

who would have guessed that a 241 year old penis could be worth so much????

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katie May 31, 2010 at 9:36 am

it’s antique!
antique things are always expensive.
and you can get napoleon’s dna.
cloning …
(giggle)

Mari Raphael May 31, 2010 at 4:28 am

herdar um pênis morto ! caramba! ninguem merece ! pagar pelo pinto morto então….. que isso, hem???

beijos,
Mari.

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Daniel May 31, 2010 at 3:20 am

Makes me think of tigers and virility potions! :D

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Patrícia Coelho May 31, 2010 at 12:25 am

Eu só fico pensando o que levou o padre a querer guardar justamente o pinto do Napoleão.

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Alejandro Ulloa May 31, 2010 at 12:09 am

El poder masculino en su escencia.
Que pena que no se haya expuesto en algún museo para haber podido contemplar lo sencillo y corriente que fue el hombre mas poderoso de su tiempo.

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Hope May 31, 2010 at 12:08 am

I wonder if Napoleon felt as lonely as I do sometimes? What is it good for when you are dead, 100000 penis or 10000000000 dollar hair?
/Hope

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Alexandra May 31, 2010 at 12:32 pm

Be sure he felt lonely while in exile…

Rosetta Savelli May 31, 2010 at 12:08 am

Ciao Paulo, come si può sezionare un Grande?
E’ impossibile ! Ci hanno provato anche con il cervello di Einstein, ma un Grande è Grande nella sua totalità !
Ciao Rosetta

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katie May 30, 2010 at 11:31 pm

ah, Paulo ….

is this a contribution that should balance the camel-bra picture?
from one extreme to the other?

is it another example of “timing”?
from 3,000 to 100,000?

or, is it an example of the morbid thinking of humans, the “perfect creation of god”?
including the other 9 examples from Times, especially the Maori heads.

:o)

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Dhiraj May 30, 2010 at 8:58 pm

well..even if its a bid one to makes al men green..its not fair to such a gr8 man

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Iana May 30, 2010 at 8:15 pm

heh…

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piyush May 30, 2010 at 9:37 pm

hahahhaa….

Alastair May 30, 2010 at 8:11 pm

Like most people, they are worth more dead than alive!!!

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gs May 30, 2010 at 8:06 pm

Was to wage war on the the fairer sex of 21 century……hahahaha

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Nicolle May 30, 2010 at 7:34 pm

Very interesting story, mas quem realmente se importa com o tamanho do penis dele? O que consta nos livros de historia sao somente o tamanho de suas conquistas…

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Vivek Nanda May 30, 2010 at 7:08 pm

$100,000 Penis, it has to be of Napolean only!!

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@paullohm May 30, 2010 at 6:57 pm

The question is what the hell did that urologist do with that piece of art during 30 years??? hahahahha

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Davis Bear May 30, 2010 at 6:55 pm

poor Napoleon. :(

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Pandora May 30, 2010 at 6:54 pm

@ least he was dead at the time it was cut off ;)

Human beings are so brilliant and so ridiculous, no wonder God loves us, no-one else would have the patience…

LOL

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ron May 30, 2010 at 8:34 pm

so true

Irina Black May 30, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Для того чтобы обрести “Жизнь после смерти” “Одиннадцатого пальца” нужно всего лишь быть Наполеоном.

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THELMA May 30, 2010 at 4:41 pm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/cypus-president-tassos-papadopoulos-corpse-found
These things happen in … the Paradise of … Cyprus too!! A very macabre story.. So much was written and said, which finally turned out to be that it was just for blackmailing and money..
Regarding Napoleon’s .. penis, what size could have one .. cut off from a .. corpse? ;-]
LOVE,
Thelma xxx

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Adriana May 30, 2010 at 4:32 pm

Poor Napoleon!
I think it is very humane to be fixated with having something from people who have stood out for some reason because it is a way to obtain some of the attributes of the person. I don’t judge. I’ve no idea why the doctor decided to cut Napoleon’s penis, but there must be a good reason for that. Was Napoleon known for being a great lover? Was he endowed with a big penis? Did they think that he didn’t deserve to pass onto the next life with this symbol of fertility? Since I don’t know much about the fact I’m just speculating, and I have to admit now I’m more interested because the stolen part was the penis. This may well be a legend.
Ruben Darío, great nicaraguan poet and writer, initiator of Spanish modernism, and whose influence on Spanish language has even been compared to the one of Shakespeare on the English language died at the age of forty-nine of cirrhosis. At the beginning of the twentieth century people in my country admired him that much for his outstanding intelligence that when he died it is said that the doctor took the brain out of his head to find out how big it was. Thank God it was not stolen , but put beside his body buried at the Cathedral of León in Nicaragua. There is a lion weeping over his tombstone. Unfortunately, Napoleón was not that lucky, maybe because he was under arrest on that island, and due to this his organ has been subject to ridicule over the years.
Moral: if you are famous be careful with the doctor you chose to assist you when you’re dying :)
Anyways, Napoleón is well known for his actions and not for his stolen penis!

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eleonora May 30, 2010 at 3:10 pm

ridicolo…..questa e’ l’ennesima prova che pur essendo… a chi ha acquistato la parte di Napoleone,gli interessava poco delle sue gesta,,come se di Napoleone contasse solo quello….con affetto eleonora

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marie-christine May 30, 2010 at 2:45 pm

“Le penis de Napoleon
Les gens font une fixation sur le penis de Napoleon depuis que son docteur, soi-disant l’a ampute pendant son autopsie.
En 1821, il l’avait donne a un pretre en Corse. Le penis qui n’a pas ete correctement preserve a ete compare au fil de l’an a un morceau de cuir, une anguille ratatinee et du “beef
jerky”.
En 1927, lorsqu’il a ete expose a Manhattan, TIME pese, le comparant a “un lacet en peau de daim malmene”. C’est suffisant pour donner a n’importe qui un complexe! En 1977, un urologue habitant a New Jersey a achete la relique “en vogue” pour $3,000 et l’a range sous son lit jusqu’a sa mort 30 ans plus tard.
Sa fille a herite du penis de Napoleon et a lance au moins une offre pour $100.000.”

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CuriousBookFan May 30, 2010 at 2:43 pm

I wonder why it was held under the bed…

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Olta Ana May 30, 2010 at 2:05 pm

Napoleon is a great personality and I am sure that he had lots of great values to take example from.
I like Napoleon for his exaggerate ambition and because we have the same sign(horoscope):P .

Now back to the topic. Nice sense of humor Paulo. This one was really funny.

Well this is the proof that out there there are real crazy people. They can “admire” you so much that they would “kill” to have a piece of you. This is the proof that too much admiration isn’t good for health. hahahahahah
Not even for one’s reputation. Look what jealous people are able to do.

Love
Olta

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Alexandra May 30, 2010 at 1:07 pm

No way…Incredible. Why they care about such? I think a body must be in tomb entire, not a piece there another over there…I would have lots of nightmares if I had to keep pieces of a dead body near me. And is lack of respect to another human being, Napoleon or whatever. Now I am happy I am not famous, no one will take away pieces of me if I die,I hope so.

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kathy May 30, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Interesting ..a century old penis.

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Monika June 13, 2010 at 1:00 pm

Who? Napoleon or his penis?

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Carolena Sabah June 13, 2010 at 10:34 pm

What’s your idea? I don’t know why i just know he was scared of them.
xxoo

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