In Observance Of Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, Experiment Dares Blindfolded People To Touch What Seems Like Balls

April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, but because the testicles are part of a man’s reproductive system, it is largely a taboo topic usually just discussed between the patient and doctor. To help create more awareness, a videographer decided to create a social experiment by focusing on the sense of touch.

The experiment involves asking a random person on the street to be blindfolded and then to touch objects to see if the person could identify the items. Jack Vale, the man who conducted the experiment, initially made the respondents touch and identify common objects such as a ballpen, car keys and tools.

However, toward the end, the respondent is asked to touch something that is hairy and squishy, similar in texture to a man’s testicles or scrotum. The three-minute, 16-second video that Vale made titled Touching Testicles for Charity has become viral in YouTube with close to 3 million hits in a few days.

The reaction of people upon touching the ballsac shows a divide between the genders which is understandable. Females initially get “shocked” at touching “testicles” in public, while males usually just touch it and correctly guess what is it.

After all, not all females do handle them regularly unless they have young sons whom they bathe or they bathe together with their male partners, while the men normally see and hold theirs whenever they take a bath which experts say is the best time to check for lumps.

According to Mayo Clinic, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in male Americans between the ages of 15 and 35. It is highly treatable and survival rate is high.

One of the most prominent survivor of testicular cancer is cyclist Lance Armstrong. A more recent case is Argentinean footballer Jonas Gutierrez of the British team Newcastle. He returned for the first time since August 2013 to the game on Sunday afternoon for the Wear-Tyne Derby at Sunderland.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtmes.com.au