Houston, We Have Lift-Off
The penile plethysmograph -- also known as a strain gauge or peter meter -- has been around since the 1950s, when a Czech researcher invented a way to test the truthfulness of soldiers who wanted to get out of service by claiming they were gay. It detects erections by measuring the circumference of the penis with the help of mercury and an electrical current.
The penile plethysmograph is used in a variety of settings, (where it measures a man's level of impotence), prisons (where it tests the sexual response of sex offenders) and research laboratories (where, among other things, it has suggested that many homophobic men get turned on by gay sex). . . . Still, the plethysmograph is controversial, and critics question whether it measures anything useful.
Impotence -- like pregnancy -- is a binary measurement: Yes, you are; no, you are not. If this machine offers a middle ground, then it is not measuring anything useful.
posted by Biff Loman at 2:41 PM
4 Comments:
Perhaps it's more useful in measuring the responses of the people attaching the . . uh. . .clamp?
When a former nurse says something like, it kind of scares me.
And kind of makes me want to wear my sexy underwear to my next medical appointment.
Freaks.
Well. . . yeah!
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