Dark History - 152: The Secret Sex Lives of Eunuchs | Dark History

Episode Date: December 4, 2024

Hi friends, happy Wednesday! Over many cultures and many years, being a Eunuch--or someone who has been castrated--has meant something different. Like In ancient China, Eunuchs were thought to be more trustworthy, so they became political advisors.  Or In Italy, they realized it stopped men’s voices from developing. So Eunuchs formed a special class of opera singers.  Sometimes the process of becoming a Eunuch was voluntary… And other times… not so much. It was done by force or even coercion. But where did these traditions start?  Well my friends, today, we’re talking about the dark history of … EUNUCHS. I appreciate you coming by, and tune in next week for more Dark History. ________ FOLLOW ME AROUND  Tik Tok: https://bit.ly/3e3jL9v Instagram: http://bit.ly/2nbO4PR Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mdZtK6 Twitter: http://bit.ly/2yT4BLV Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2mVpXnY Youtube: http://bit.ly/1HGw3Og Snapchat: https://bit.ly/3cC0V9d Discord: https://discord.gg/BaileySarian RECOMMEND A STORY HERE: [e-mail]  Business Related Emails: [e-mail] Business Related Mail:  Bailey Sarian  4400 W. Riverside Dr., Ste 110-300  Burbank, CA 91505 ________ Stop wasting money on things you don’t use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to https://www.RocketMoney.com/DARKHISTORY.  Go to https://www.Audible.com/DARKHISTORY and discover all the year’s best waiting for you. Get your first visit for only five dollars at https://www.Apostrophe.com/DARKHISTORY when you use our code: DARKHISTORY.  Save up to 33% on Guardian Bikes, no code needed! Plus, get free shipping and a free bike lock and pump with your first purchase after signing up for their newsletter. Visit https://www.GuardianBikes dot com to take advantage of these deals and secure your holiday gifts today. Happy Riding!

Do you guys remember the Heaven's Gate cult? I actually did a murder mystery makeup on it, but essentially they were a religious group who believed they were going to catch a ride on the Hale Bopp Comet in 1997. Now they believed that this comet was actually a spaceship. Oh yeah, and in order to ride the spaceship, you actually had to die.

Yeah, Heaven's Gate is honestly such a wild, wild story. But what a lot of people did not know was that their leader, the leader of Heaven's Gate, was a eunuch, meaning he voluntarily had himself castrated, AKA his testicles, they were removed. You know, he did this because he wanted to achieve spiritual purity. Ah.

I know. Now I know to you and I, this sounds like a little extreme, but there was actually a time when choosing to become a eunuch was pretty normal. And not just for religious reasons, but as a career opportunity and a way to climb the social ladder. Oh yeah. Over many cultures and many years, being a eunuch has meant something different.

Like in ancient China, eunuchs were thought to be more trustworthy, so they became political advisors. Or in Italy, they realized it stopped men's voices from developing. Oh yeah, so eunuchs formed a special class of opera singers. I know. Sometimes the process of becoming a eunuch was voluntary and other times not so much. Look, a lot of the times it was done by force

and look, they didn't even want it. Okay, I know. Bailey, why the hell are you doing an episode about wieners and balls getting cut off? Where am I? Am I okay? No, welcome to dark history. But where do these traditions start?

And why is this Heaven's Gate guy like the only eunuch I personally knew about? Well, guess what? We're about to learn a lot more because today we are talking about the dark history of Unix. Hi friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today.

My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Hi. Hi, how are you today? Here we believe history does not have to be boring. It might be tragic. Sometimes it's happy. A lot of times it's sad. But either way, you know, it's our dark history.

Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe because I'm always here for you posting new content. Oh yes I am. And also don't forget to let me know what you think down below in the comment section, because I love hearing from you. You're wild. So, Unix, how'd we get here, huh?

Let me tell you, we're gonna start with the basics. Because if you're anything like me, you might be wondering what makes a Eunuch a Eunuch. Or you're wondering why eunuchs, Bailey? Because it's interesting. And that's what this whole show is. All right, so just go on this journey. Eunuchs.

The first thing I was thinking about was like, do they take the whole situation, the whole enchilada, the twig, the berries? Do they take everything? What is it? I wanted to know. Well, that depends really on the culture. Basically a eunuch is a man that has been castrated.

Sorry for the men listening out there. Listen, this is history. Basically a eunuch is a man that has been castrated. Now that could mean he just had his testicles removed, or sometimes it could mean that he had his penis and his testicle removed. Testicles, testicles removed. Sometimes you didn't need to remove anything.

Back in ancient Rome, there were three different types of eunuchs. Men who had been infertile since birth, men who were castrated, and men who had their testicles crushed. Yeah, exactly what you're imagining. Their testicles were squished until they were no longer functional. Other times a string would be tied around the testicles which would just like cause the blood supply to be cut off completely and then they would like wither and fall off. Now no one really is sure who created the first eunuch since they exist across like a ton of different cultures.

Now the earliest record of a eunuch goes all the way back to the 21st century BC in Mesopotamia. So you're probably wondering why they would do it in the first place. Why Bailey? Why are they doing this? Back in the 1800s, there was a Russian cult called the Scopse. And they believed having your testicles cut off

made you free from sin. In their opinion, one of like the worst sins you could do was to have sex. So castration meant that like they would never be tempted and they could stay pure. The Scopse called themselves the white doves. They believed in order to be a real Christian and follow the path of Jesus Christ,

you had to castrate yourself. The Scopse were so intense that they actually, they freaked Stalin out and he actually ended up banning them. That kind of says a lot, cause Stalin was wild. But in other places people became eunuchs for their career. It was believed that losing your genitals

gave you special abilities that made you better qualified for certain jobs. Which is why eunuchs were specifically made to be servants and political advisors to kings in ancient China and Persia. Now here was the logic. If a eunuch couldn't have a family of his own, he would be more dedicated to his king and his career. It makes sense, he wouldn't be all distracted

with like bone and all the ladies, you know? And this in turn benefited the king because if all of his closest advisors were eunuchs, then he wouldn't be like worried that this guy was gonna be fucking all of his chicks, his wife, you know? Kind of makes sense, I get it. I get it. An added bonus, a eunuch couldn't impregnate anyone. So the king would know that all of the children born in the palace were indeed his. The king, you know? But there were some eunuchs who took advantage

of being constantly underestimated. Some of them even gained more power than the kings that they served. You know what mistake I made last holiday season? Well, I got Paul a Cigar of the Month Club subscription. Now I've been trying to tell him, "'Paul, it is not good for your health. And he's all, look, I don't have lungs.

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That's rocketmoney.com slash dark history. Rocketmoney.com slash dark history. One of the first eunuchs to defy all odds and rise to power. This guy was badass. And guess what his name is? You'll never guess. His name was Baggo Ass the Elder. Baggo Ass. Yeah, that was his name is, you'll never guess. His name was Bagowas the Elder, Bagowas. Yeah, that was his name though.

But this was back in like fourth century BC in Persia, Bagowas. I guess Bagowas was a name that was commonly given to eunuchs in Persia. Now this was because there were hundreds, if not thousands of eunuchs serving the king at the time. And I guess the king had better things to do than learn every eunuch's name.

So he would refer to all of them as bago ass. It's not funny. It was the same in China because there were so many eunuchs the emperor made them choose from like a small number of names. Their names would emphasize their loyalty to him. Many were called Jinzhong, which meant entered the palace in loyalty. It kind of reminds me of like those 18 kids and counting how they're like John, Jacob, Josephina,

Jenaniah, Jedidiah, John Jacob Jingleheimer, Smith. You know it's like that. I don't know, made it easy for them. So if you were a eunuch and you weren't working in the palace, now you were kind of like low-key the shit because you knew everything about everybody. Like the Unix knew everyone's business. They would be the people you'd want to gossip with because they knew shit and they weren't preoccupied with you know raging boners or anything. They had time to sit listen and watch and I like those types of people. Technically they were like on the lower end

of the totem pole, but like, look, you didn't want to mess with a eunuch because a eunuch had the king's ear. I don't know if this is a fair comparison, but look, it kind of reminds me, like they're the little minions, not little minions, but they're kind of like the minions and they hear and then they watch everything.

And then they go back to the king and they let him know what's going on. You know what I'm saying? The Unix. So like, if you got on a Unix bad side, he would go right to the king and let him know what is up. And this was not, this was not ideal. You did not want the king to know you were doing something

something fishy so there are a bunch of eunuchs and you know not all of them became close with the king just because you went through with the procedure didn't automatically make you the king's right hand man but bago asked the elder he was one of those special eunuchs who ended up rising to the top. He worked hard. He became a private minister to the King of Persia. King Artaxerxes III. So the king relied on Bagoas' opinion heavily. So whether it was for personal matters, politics, whatever was going on, he wanted to know.

He wanted to hear it. But what the king didn't know at the time was that Baguaz was not a friend. Oh he was shady. Baguaz was looking out for himself, okay? And not only that, he had bigger plans. He wanted to take over Persia. And he felt like he could. He wanted to take over Persia and he felt like he could. He knew everything about everyone and how the king worked. It's kind of smart. Now Bagolas knew like okay he can't just like take over with his current king in charge you know this guy's too powerful so instead he's like you know what I gotta do? Murder. So Bagolas ended up murdering the king, I don't know how, and not only that, but also murdered his sons.

He ended up leaving one of his sons alive, and that was on purpose, because Baggoass wanted this son specifically to be in charge, because he was kind of a little shit, kind of dumb, multiple. I can get this guy to like work for me, is what he's thinking, it's part of his plan. So, you know, the whole family just got murdered.

No one knows who did it. And then the son now becomes king. What he didn't know was that he was really just a puppet. Bagelass was right by his side, you know, giving him feedback, telling him what to do. And this new king is doing as he suggested because, you know, Bagelass seems to know better. He's been here longer. He's been working for the king for like a long time.

So yeah, I'm gonna listen to him. So a couple of years go by, Bagoas decides it's time to switch things up again. Bagoas kills this last king, okay? And now there's a new guy, his name's D's Darius I know we get some like wild king names and then sometimes you get the normal ones they're just like Darius anyways Darius is on the throne he's the new king unfortunately for Bago ass though Darius was like smart he was a little smarter than the last two kings uh maybe he took notice that the, you know,

something funky was going on because murder kept taking place. And you know, he decided to keep an eye out for Selina. Anyways, but he's kind of putting two and two together. He's thinking that this bago ass guy is the common denominator and everyone's getting murdered. Hmm. So Darius is in charge and you know

he's making his own decisions but Bagel ass wanted him out like he wasn't listening to his advice like the others. So one day Bagel ass decides he's going to poison Darius's drink. Once again murder trying to get rid of him. So Bagel ass has this drink comes to Darius, and he's like, here, I brought you something to drink. And instead, Darius was like, you know what? Why don't you drink it? You know, to prove like there isn't poison in it

or anything, just to make sure. So Bagelass was put on the spot, and Bagelass was really dedicated to the bit. So he drank the poison drink, which then led to his death. Aqua-tafana! That's a real Aqua-tafana. That is the Aqua-tafana story, right? Come on my murder mystery friends you know what's up. Bago-ass wasn't the only power hungry eunuch. Over in China eunuchs also served as political advisors. One difference was that in China, eunuchs were considered men whose penis

and testicles were removed. You gotta do both. Eunuchs were extremely important to the emperor of China. Traditionally, the emperor kept about 2,000 eunuchs in his service at any given time. Now that number varied a lot depending on the emperor's personal preference. In the 16th century there were as many as 100,000 eunuchs living in the Forbidden City,

which was China's main palace complex. So working in the Forbidden City was like getting an internship in the White House. Except you had to do a lot more. The process of becoming a eunuch and getting to work in the Forbidden City, wasn't easy shit. It was actually pretty messed up During the holidays it feels like I always have a million things to do and I don't know about you guys But I can only get through my to-do lists if I'm listening to something I know but listen I need a break from like Christmas carols. Okay? Joan I told you little Drummer Boy is great. It's beautiful and you do a great job at it,

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It was believed by those in charge that the best eunuchs with the most potential came from poor families. I mean, the ideal candidate for a eunuch was believed to be about 11 or 12 years old. Now, usually young boys from poor families would get scouted by Imperial recruiters. They would tell these boys that becoming a eunuch

was like their only option for a better life. They would tell the boy, you get to live in the royal palace. You get an allowance, you know, and you can send that allowance like back to your families. Like you want to work in the palace is what they're telling these boys. Usually the boys, they had no idea what they were being asked to give up. Most of the time, the boys didn't even realize what exactly they were agreeing to until after the situation, the surgery, the removification of it all.

Well, maybe the boy would agree and be like, oh my God, yeah, this sounds great, I'll do it. So the recruiter would take the boy to a special group of people who performed the unique surgery. These people were called the knifers. All right, I mean, very straightforward. You know, they were very familiar with the surgery and they had it down to a science.

Before chopping off the boy's penis and testes, it was a ritual for the knifer to always ask in Chinese, will you come to regret this decision? So they're like asking, they're asking for consent, but like from a young boy, you know, I was like, it's not appropriate. But the boy would say no, and then they would chop it off. So once the parts were removed,

it was actually a tradition for the severed penis and testicles to be hung in the family's home from the highest beam in the ceiling. Now this was to signify the heights that he might reach in his upcoming career as a eunuch. Once the boy was healed and ready to get to work, he would take his parts down from the ceiling and then put them in a jar and then bring it with him to live in the palace. And then you actually kept your penis and testes in that jar your whole life until you died and then you would be buried with it. Oh yes this

was so that you could be whole in the afterlife. Sometimes poor families would try to create a loophole and perform like you know the surgery on their kids themselves hoping for the best. I don't know how they uh maybe they would do it and then be like go just sneak into the palace they'll never know so i guess they were even grown men who would try to castrate themselves in um hopes of bettering their lives i don't know what the the plan was like they would they would castrate themselves and then would they sneak into the palace would they tell it? Like, I don't know, but they did that, you know? I don't know.

But like, let's say you did castrate yourself. If people found out that you did that, it would backfire and you would actually be like completely banned from the palace. But even if you went about it in like the right way, being a eunuch just wasn't easy. It seems so complicated depending on where you're at too. Like once you became a eunuch you were kind of a social pariah.

So if you were a eunuch and you decided to go home to your village and like just visit family, you're like hey I'm gonna go see like my friends, yay. If people knew you were a eunuch you would totally get treated differently. Like even your own family, they were like, mm, mm, like they were kind of afraid of you. Because again, like you worked for the emperor or the king or whoever was in charge. So it's like, if I mess up, are you gonna rat on me?

Are you gonna rat on me, Brad? You know? And then if they did rat on you? Are you gonna rat on me, Brad? You know? And then if they did rat on you, you could be killed. So this was like intimidating and a lot of people just kind of didn't wanna be around eunuchs because you had to be on your best behavior. They were judging. They were judging.

So there were some eunuchs who would actually end up running away from the palace because they missed home. You know, they were taken from like a young age. They didn't know what they were getting into. So then they wanted to get the F out of there and they would run away. Then if they did run away and they were now living at home, they would try to blend in

and pretend that everything was normal, right? I'm not a eunuch, that's crazy. Do you think that? Cause I'm not, whoa. If they ever were found out, they could like get kicked out of their home. Again, everyone would know, no one would feel safe around you.

And you were just kind of screwed. But the reason so many people became eunuchs and like took that risk was because there was always a small chance that you could become insanely powerful. And if that happened, it was like winning the lottery. And this is what happened to a eunuch named Zhao Gao. Zhao came from a family who had been

through a lot of trauma. Like his father was convicted of a crime. I'm not sure what crime, but it was bad. It was bad enough that he ended up being castrated as punishment. Meanwhile, Zhao's mother and siblings were all taken to live in the palace as slaves. Now because of their father's crime,

because he was a bad guy, Zhao and all of his brothers were castrated at birth because they came from his dad, you know, it's punishment. Zhao worked as an official for the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, and everyone really liked Zhao. He quickly rose to the ranks and became the number one guy to emperor Qin Shi Huang. Now this emperor was a very big deal. He conquered and united different warring states within China. Basically he created China like as we know it today. He also was the emperor who started the Great Wall of China. He was doing big things, okay?

And Zhao was right there, as his right hand, just in a really good spot. Most people in China today, they know him as the original gaslighter. Zhao is associated with a very popular Chinese expression. Ready for it? Pointing at a deer and calling it a horse. Huh, I know. Okay, go on. Well, even though the Emperor thought Zhao was trustworthy, Zhao was only ever like looking out for himself. In fact, he was considering doing the worst thing possible, betraying his country and taking over the Chin government. So he has to like make a plan, you know? So before he takes over the whole government and everything,

Zhao has to be sure that the other court officials will listen to him and only him. So he came up with a little test. He brought a deer. Here's my deer into the palace and he marched it right up to the emperor. And he tells the emperor, this is a horse. And the emperor, I guess, laughed and said, like, is the chancellor perhaps mistaken calling a deer a horse? Drama. I know. And then the emperor asked everyone around him to back him up. He's like, right? That's not a deer everyone. So the emperor

asked everyone to like back him up and a lot of the people stayed quiet while others tried to please jow and say like, yeah, it's, it's a horse. That's crazy, that's a horse. What? That's a horse. You know, cause they didn't want to like upset Zhao. Zhao was like very powerful. Some people didn't agree with him. And they were like, that's a deer Zhao.

Like, are you dumb? And he was like, he didn't say anything. And then afterwards, when this was all over, behind closed doors, he got everyone who said it was a deer and had them executed. That'll teach them. After this, word gets around about what Zhao did. Now everyone at the palace was terrified of Zhao.

Like what? It was a horse, you know? I don't know. After this, everyone at the palace was terrified of Zhao and he was able to gain control of the Chinese military as a result. Zhao was notorious by the time he died. He became the poster child for why eunuchs should not be trusted. But after Zhao died the Qin dynasty basically fell apart. So this made people be like, see, you need a eunuchs

because if not, like the whole thing falls apart, you know, like we need them. We need them for dynasties to succeed. So there was like a lot of mixed messaging going on about eunuchs. Some people loved them, some people didn't like them. But in China, the tradition of having them continued for thousands of years.

In fact, the very last Chinese eunuch on record, whose name was Sun Yauting, didn't die until 1996. Another common misconception about eunuchs, besides them not being trustworthy, was people didn't think that they were sexually active. Now except for in China where they did remove the penis in addition to the testes, many eunuchs were completely capable of having sex and you know they still had sex drives. It was actually said that eunuchs made better lovers because they lasted longer. I could see that. Yeah I could see that but I guess it's all dependent on like when exactly the surgery took place.

So if a boy was castrated in his early teenage years, usually he would have some hormones still in his body and he would like develop normally. Sometimes like he wouldn't have body hair, but for the most part, they'd be a normal boy. Men who were castrated closer to adulthood would have like facial hair, body hair, and active sex drives.

Some eunuchs were castrated when they were like very young children and then their parts would never like fully develop and this would impact their physical development for like ever. In the Qin dynasty, for example, boys who were castrated at this very young age had a tendency to grow extremely tall and lanky

because of a hormonal imbalance. Now, because they were like tall and lanky, they actually had a special place in the emperor's guard. They were the last line of defense against palace invaders. But across the many cultures where eunuchs existed, there was a common misunderstanding that they were not sexual. This is why many of them were used as guards to protect the women of the palace.

In Muslim courts, for example, eunuchs were created to work as bodyguards for the king's harems. A harem is sort of like a house where a king would keep all of his wives and like sex servants. And if a eunuch were to have a secret affair with any of the women he was supposed to be guarding, well it was kind of like a perfect crime because they wouldn't be able to get the woman pregnant and bada bing bada boom. Maybe this is why some eunuchs were actually heartthrobs in their day. Especially a castrati.

Castrati is the word for a male singer who undergoes castration before puberty in order to keep their high vocal range. That is dedication. This practice started in the 16th century and the castrati were the biggest stars in the world of Italy's baroque opera. So they started out as young boys from like lower class families who had singing talent. Just like in China these boys would be scouted and before puberty hit and their voices would drop they were taken in for castration. After the surgery was over, they would usually be sent to study music

at schools and churches across the country. And the whole goal was getting more men who could sing in a higher vocal range. I know, and you might be thinking, Bailey, Bailey, Bailey, Bailey, why couldn't they just have women sing in this high vocal range? Well, it's 16th century, Brenda, okay?

Women were not allowed to sing in the Catholic church. Get it together. Actually, women weren't even allowed to talk in church. So no, we must castrate the boys. It made more sense to them to castrate children than to let women sing. So that says a lot, huh? But like I said, the castrati, they were stars.

They were celebrated all across Europe. People love them for their talent, but not really a lot was known about the situation because castration in Italy at this time was a very taboo subject. I mean, I think it is still a very taboo subject, you can say. So people didn't really know.

They just thought these were like talented boys, which is so sad. Everything about these boys was kept a secret. Like no one really knew exactly how or when or why or what these boys were castrated. Yeah. I guess they just wanted the people to believe that these bunch of boys throughout the Italian countryside

just happen to have these beautiful singing voices. You know, little angels. Wow. And like it just so happens that they also had no testicles. It was just a weird coincidence. I don't know. But listen to them. Wow.

You know, but behind those PR stories, the truth, obviously, it was a lot darker. There's so much to remember during the holiday season, like what presents to buy, what parties to go to, what outfits am I wearing for these parties? Do I have to put on pants? Uh, uh, I know. With so much going on, sometimes it's easy to forget to like actually take care of yourself.

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Hey, a big thank you to Apostrophe for sponsoring today's episode. Now let's get back to the story, huh? So the boys, like who showed promise from a young age, were not only scouted, no, get this, they were often drugged, kidnapped, and taken to a back alley, a back alley surgeon, to have their testes cut off. What in the, what is going on? These were boys between the ages of like seven and nine. And many of them didn't even know what happened until like they woke up.

And it's even worse than like what you're imagining in your head right now because these weren't specialists like the knifers you know in China. These were um people called barber surgeons meaning like these are the guys that you would go to for haircuts. Yeah. We actually talked about barber surgeons in our oral hygiene episode. Barber surgeons kind of just belong in the strangest episodes here at Dark History, don't they? Yeah. The barber surgeon, okay, look, they would drug these boys. They would take them to the alley.

These barber surgeons would cut the ducts in the testicles. Show a picture. Can we? I don't know. And then the testicles would shrivel up, leading to the boys testosterone to just plummet. So if the boy even survived the surgery, he'd go on to like intense training

in order to sing like an angel for the Pope. I know, I was thinking, did the Pope know? Did the Pope make them do this? Like who agreed that this was what they were gonna do is what I was thinking, did the pope know? Did the pope make them do this? Like who agreed that this was what they were going to do is what I was thinking too? I don't know. I guess um we'll never know. Famous male singers are always going to have groupies and this was very much true for the castrati. They were extremely desired by women in high society. In England, multiple castrati had affairs with married noble women. One especially famous castrati

was named Farinelli. Farinelli was born in 1705 and when he was about 12 he was forced to become a eunuch, which at 12 years old we now know is actually a lot older than most. So he was like a little bit more developed. But Farinelli became huge. He was major. People loved this guy. They're throwing bras, they're like putting light in their lighters like, and you know the ladies just loved him. By 1737, Farinelli was 32 years old and performing all over Europe. And that's when he caught the eye of the Queen of Spain who brought him over to her court. Apparently the Queen thought his voice was so special that it would heal her sick husband, King Felipe V.

King Felipe was going through bouts of mania and depression. Today, he might be diagnosed with something like bipolar disorder, but you know, it's 1737. So they didn't have like medicine or anything. So opera was the treatment. Farinelli came to court and started performing for the king every single night.

And to everyone's surprise, it kind of worked. His singing really did help the king. And Farinelli became very close with him. Like other eunuchs before him, Farinelli was one of the most influential people in the country. But unlike some other guys we've talked about, Farinelli didn't kill anyone for power.

I mean, that we know of, he just sung his way into power. He ended up retiring in 1759 and he, I don't know, he just like hung out with other famous people, like Casanova and Mozart until he died in 1782. That's his story, you know? This is pretty much like the best case scenario for a castrati. Eventually people started to learn about like,

what was going on with this whole forced castration situation. And by 1878, Pope Leo XIII banned any new hiring of castrati by the church. That took a while. I don't know how word got out, but it just did. Like people started to find out.

The last Kastrati in the Pope's choir retired in 1913. You know what's crazy though that I was thinking about? How come the Pope's don't become eunuchs? You know, I think actually it would solve a lot of issues if you know what I mean. And it would prove their devotion to God and the religion and the church. And I say they should do that.

Thank you. You know what's surprisingly stressful? Buying holiday gifts for children. Ah, there are just so many toy options, video games, everything, right? And I have no idea. Like what's cool? What is the kid like?

I don't know. You know, you want to like get them something that they're gonna love and use and I'll be the favorite auntie of course so this year you know what I decided to go with a classic gift I'm talking a new bike and listen the type of bike was easy to choose thanks to our friends at Guardian Bike. Listen, they make the easiest, safest, and quickest bikes for kids to learn on. They have kids learning to ride in just one day. No training wheels needed.

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after signing up for their newsletter. Visit guardianbikes.com to take advantage of these deals and secure your holiday gifts today. Happy riding. Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do. That's how I ride my bike. So the act of castration in itself is pretty gruesome. I'm sure you can, yeah, you know, it's pretty intense.

No one's using some kind of numbing cream. There's no like, you know, IV where you knock out and then like you get it removed. This is just, they broad-dogged it to a lot of people who didn't even want it and thought they were gonna have a better life. Like the whole thing is pretty messed up. But so far the unix we've talked about have gone on to have successful career singing or trying to overthrow the

government, murdering people, and it elevated them to another level in society. But stories like these are few and far between. Sadly, the majority of men getting castrated weren't in line for a promotion. Most of them, more often than not, it was just simply mutilation, period. Back in the 11th century in France, there was a successful philosopher named Peter Abelard. And Peter was hired to tutor a young girl named Eloise

from the Plaza. I know, the crossover you didn't expect. I'm just kidding, I don't know any other Eloise. She was considered one of the most educated women of the time. So she needs a tutor, you know, to further her education. So her uncle hired a tutor, Peter. Pretty soon after, like it was kinda normal,

I guess if you're rich, like your tutor would move into your house. I've seen rich people do this. I saw a movie about it. What was it called? The Tutor, I think it's called, where like the tutor moves in and then he gets all weird. Anyways, so Peter moves into their house.

Around this time, Eloise and Peter, they start falling for each other. He's teaching her how to do math, and she's like, oh my God, that's so sexy, and they just fall in love. And they start to have an affair, and it's just hot. Well, Eloise's uncle, he didn't like this. No, he did not.

He tried to stop it, but he was too late because Eloise ended up pregnant. Peter's not a eunuch, I forgot. I was like, where are we right now? So Peter, you know, he stepped up, he proposed to her. They ended up getting married and Eloise had a baby and she named her baby, get this, this is great, Astro Blade. Yeah, they named their baby Astro Blade.

Yeah, it sounds like a roller skate. It's bizarre, but whatever, we're not judging. But Eloise's uncle, she was not done with them yet. He was furious about his niece running off with Peter. So he, being weird, like track them down. Yeah, Eloise's uncle is like obsessed. So Eloise's uncle got a bunch of men together and made them break into Peter's home in the middle

of the night. I guess, you know, they break into the home, they hold Peter down, and then they violently castrated him as punishment for impregnating Eloise. Which is so lame. Like, they already have a kid. They're together. They're married. Just let it go, dude, right? But well, Peter, she's like, shit, man. He doesn't know what to do. So he then becomes a monk and Eloise was forced into a convent. But the two of them kept exchanging love letters. I guess they were very steamy

and they're kind of famous to this day. Eloise's writing is now considered some of the earliest feminist philosophy. So, you know, we've only talked about surgical castration, but as time goes on and science advances, chemical castration becomes a thing. Chemical castration sounds really scary. Well, it all sounds scary, but for some reason,

the word chemical castration just sounds really, really scary. Chemical castration is when hormonal drugs are prescribed in an attempt to reduce libido. Now this has been used for people convicted of sexual crimes like pedophilia. The idea is that if testosterone is reduced, so will the man's sex drive, huh?

And hopefully the goal is that this will stop him from committing sexual crimes. And at one point being gay was considered a sexual crime. Back in the 1930s there was this genius mathematician and scientist and his name was Alan Turing. So basically during World War II he worked for the British government to try and break the code Germans were using to send secret messages. So he was like, I'm going to figure out what they're saying. And in fact, without Allen doing what he did, the Nazis might have won World War II.

He was an international hero. At least he should have been. But Allen was gay and he was in a relationship with another man named Arnold Murray. So one night Alan called the cops regarding a robbery at his home, but the cops decided to ignore the robbery situation and instead investigate something else. Alan's sexuality.

It was the 1950s and in England, technically, homosexuality was illegal. But Allen didn't care, he was living his life. He made it a point to be open about his sexuality and who he loved. So when the police brought the charges of gross indecency against him, Allen refused to deny the allegations on principle. Ultimately, this meant that he was convicted for being in a relationship with a man. And Alan's punishment for that?

Chemical castration. Lame. He was put on hormone therapy meant to reduce his libido and cure him of his criminal interests. But the hormones had awful side effects. His libido wasn't just reduced, he actually became fully impotent and he was taking a bunch of estrogen, so it caused him to develop some breasts. So now, Alan had a criminal record

and because of this, his security clearance was revoked, meaning he could no longer work, he could no longer do his life's work. Like everything was taken from him. Now this is a man who should have been treated like a war hero, you know, like seriously, but instead he had his whole life completely destroyed by the government that he protected.

I mean, you would be pissed, fuck that, you know? It was just, it was horrible. Sadly, in 1954, Alan Turing ended his own life. Poor guy. But you know, there are some conspiracies out there because whenever a person dies in a strange way and the government's kind of involved and I guess Alan's death was strange,

people think maybe he was handled. Do you know what I'm saying? Well, I guess he allegedly poisoned himself by eating an apple laced with cyanide. Very Snow White, huh? But Alan's legacy lives on. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth issued Alan Turing a royal pardon. Wow.

I mean, it's nice, but it's like a little too late, ma'am. But okay, you know whatever sure. And then a year later a movie came out called The Imitation Game and Benedict Cumberbatch played Alan. So people now are like finally recognizing you know how important he was. You know throughout history we've been doing this we've been doing it for thousands of years, and somehow keep finding new reasons to do it. It's given us politicians, advisors, guards, singers, celebrities, but I think for the most part it's uh like really just ruined lives. Some people choose to become eunuchs willingly, believing it will be like their lottery ticket to a better life, or maybe like a more spiritual one, And sometimes it's just a matter of tradition

but it's a part of history I personally knew nothing about. This was like all shocking to me. I was, my mind was blown. I was like, what? Cause I always hear about women's, you know, you've heard of it too. I've heard of that, but I haven't heard about like male castration really. Anyways, that's how I ended up here, but I would love to hear you guys'

thoughts because I've bought so many books on eunuchs and I am having a eunuchs moment right now. It's just wild to me that castration meant so many different things to different cultures. Okay, so let me tell you What you're gonna look forward to next week. I went down a rabbit hole and I found out the craziest cocktail fact Did you know that in 2010 Jimmy? Hesaldon he's the owner of Segway. He died by accidentally Segwaying off a cliff. I was like, what? I mean, that's sad, but like, kind of ironic. I mean, it's sad because like, Jimmy probably would still be alive if he had been walking, right? So this got me thinking, I wonder how many genius inventions out there ended up killing the people who invented

them. It's kind of Frankenstein-ish huh? Well join me next week because we're doing the dark history of creators ruined by their creations. Oh shit it's actually good. Well friends thank you for hanging out with me today. I hope you learned something new. Did you know you can join me over on my YouTube where you can actually watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can also catch

my murder mystery and makeup. Don't forget to subscribe because I'm here for you weekly. Damn it. I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make sure to leave a comment down below so I can see what you're saying and your comment might actually be featured in a future episode. Now let's read a couple of comments that you guys have left me. Yay! Starry Adventure8922 left me a comment saying,

I love that Bailey comes up with topics for dark history that we'd never expect had one. Love you, Bailey. Thank you for our happy place on Thursdays. Thursdays. Starry Adventure. Thank you, you're so sweet. I've been saying this for a long time. I'm a very curious person and I love it

because when we sit down and we think about topics, man, it's just like, you can go anywhere. Everything has a weird dark history is what I've learned, right? You just like never know what, why, when, where, how. Blows my mind every time I sit down. I'm like wow. And then I learned so much. I hope you do too, but thank you for watching. It means a lot. I appreciate you. Heather Renee 30292 left a comment on our organ transplant episode saying I had a kidney transplant. I know my donor He is allergic to milk

Morphine also loved fish. I never had an issue with milk or morphine till after my transplant Now I am allergic Also hated fish and now I love it My donor is 1 third Hawaiian 1 third third Japanese, and one third white. Also my hair and eyes both got darker. Heather, oh my god. First of all, congratulations on your kidney transplant. I hope you're doing well. Secondly, that's nuts. That's nuts. Especially the thing with your hair and your eye color changing. And like what? You like what? Really? That's crazy.

I love- thank you for sharing. That was very interesting. I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry you can't have milk. Sarah Jo 3396 left us an episode suggestion. I'd love to hear you talk about the 1986 Ohio balloon launch disaster. That story has a few different levels to it and I'd love to hear an in-depth episode on it. Sarah, it's so funny you bring that up. I literally was just watching a little like mini documentary situation on it and I was like what is this even about? I'm with you. It's, it's an... We should do a story on it. Love this for us, Sarah. Thank you, Sarah. Love this. All right, well we are done, finally. I appreciate you so much for hanging out and watching.

And if you don't know, Dark History is an audio boom original. I want to give a big special thank you to our expert, Norman Kutcher. I know I didn't know we can find a eunuchs expert but we did and Norman was great. Appreciate you. And I'm your host Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good day you make good choices please. Thank you so much and I'll be talking to you later. Goodbye!