We're pretty certain that even in the country that basically invented the word fascism, gentlemen of every class have been able to rub their balls in public. But the times, they are apparently changing. An Italian court has ruled that it's illegal for a man to be "ostentatiously touching his genitals through his clothing" in public -- which they've apparently been doing for luck, according to Slate.
What does the crotch have to do with luck?
It's the seat of
fertility. The crotch grab goes back at least to the pre-Christian
Roman era and is closely associated with another superstition called
the "evil eye"—the
belief that a covetous person can harm you, your children, or your
possessions by gazing at you. Cultural anthropologists conjecture that
men would try to block such pernicious beams by shielding their genitals, thus protecting their most valued asset: the future fruit of their loins.
Hey, what is in the water over at the Slate offices to where they have to ask what the crotch has to do with luck? We feel lucky every day to have our crotch. Where else would we put our lucky junk?
Anyway, congrats to the Italian courts for keeping their priorities straight!
