Having three nipples counts as a "curiosity of medicine!"

Thanks to Project Gutenberg, thousands of books are now searchable online.

I'm certain that hunts for mentions of third nipples wasn't the intended purpose of the project, but sometimes greatness just happens.

I found this short mention of the subject of superfluous nipples here:

From "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by George M. Gould and Walter Lytle Pyle"

Polymazia (or polymastia) sometimes seems to be hereditary. Robert saw a daughter whose mother was polymastic, and Woodman saw a mother and eldest daughter who each had three nipples. Lousier mentions a woman wanting a mamma who transmitted this vice of conformation to her daughter. Handyside says he knew two brothers in both of whom breasts were wanting.

Supernumerary nipples alone are also seen, as many as five having been found on the same breast. Neugebauer reports eight supernumerary nipples in one case. Hollerus has seen a woman who had two nipples on the same breast which gave milk with the same
regularity and the same abundance as the single nipple. The Ephemerides contains a description of a triple nipple. Barth describes "mamma erratica" on the face in front of the right ear which enlarged during menstruation.

That's what you get for being curious. Now you can be thankful that you don't have a nipple on your face too. And if you do, well, "Mamma Erratica" is a pretty cool nickname.

It's OK to have a third nipple!

Not that it's news to anyone who's ever read this blog before, or anyone who has and loves their third nipple, but I just found a web site with an article called "The Top 10 Craziest Science Stuff you didn't know." (Except we knew most of it 'cuz we're so freakin' smart.)

Rocketing up the charts at number eight, it's:

It's OK to have a third nipple

A supernumerary nipple (also known as a third nipple) is an additional nipple occurring in mammals including humans. Often mistaken for moles, supernumerary nipples are diagnosed at a rate of 2% in females, less in males. The nipples appear along the two vertical "milk lines" which start in the armpit on each side, run down through the typical nipples and end at the groin. They are classified into eight levels of completeness from a simple patch of hair to a milk-bearing breast in miniature.

The copy is pretty dull -- probably scraped from a previous post of mine, or from wherever I stole it from. Hey, it's all in the name of science.

Babies with Three Nipples Not Permitted to Live!

A little while ago, I received the most interesting email yet regarding third nipples.

I had written a post and sent out a few queries to people asking for information on how people with superfluous nipples were viewed in other cultures: witches, gods, devils, magicians, shamans, freaks... Even Google was no help. (Believe me, I've searched.)

Anyway, I got this email in reply. I'm not sure what part of Europe she's talking about, but based on her email address I'd guess Spain, Portugal, or Italy.

Regarding your question: According to Grandma, this belief goes back to Europe.

There was a very strong belief that people born with three nipples or more, were witches/warlocks. The belief was so strong, that when a baby was born, if it had more than two nipples the midwife would have to kill it!

If it was later discovered that the child had been permitted to live, the townspeople would go and hunt down the midwife and burn her alive. Mother and child would also suffer the same type of death.

Well, no wonder that some people are still reluctant to show their three nipples in public. Thank goodness times have changed. If Kate Hudson can walk around happy with her six toes, then we can wiggle our nipples at the world with pride.

And screw those angry townspeople. Pitchforks don't scare me.

More Third Nipple Stories

Here's another person "outing" their third nipple.

Actually, she outs her twin sister too. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Twins, and they both have three nipples! You go, girl -- if you got it, flaunt it. (Or "flaunt tit," I like to say.)

My sister's third nipple is underneath her left breast, and it's inverted. Mine pokes out from under my right one. Face to face, we could practically plug into each other. (We figure that's where we broke apart.)

I love it! Conjoined at the superfluous nipple and separated at birth, like a little Lego piece. Third nipples rock.

It's Nippleman!

Do people with three (or more) nipples have superpowers? Apparently, yes.

While I may not know exactly what they are, there are those who do. Case in point, a Swedish animator named Tobbe Andersson knows enough to publish this sketch:



Nippleman! Using the power of three nipples to fight the forces of evil! Superfluous nipple, activate!

I'm not sure about the moustache or the pot belly. I don't think he's going to get a lot of action with the ladies, but I would have said the same about Ron Jeremy.