Are you a grower or a shower? It's a question many men have been asked, almost always unnecessarily.
In essence, the little rhyming couplet enquires: are you content enough with the size of your flaccid penis that you'd be willing to just whip it out, or does its size only reach a sufficient length once erect?
But can men actually be divided up into 'showers' and 'growers'? Well, Men's Health decided to get an answer to this important question once and for all.
To get the verdict, the publication reached out to Rachel Rubin and Seth Cohen, who are experts in showerology and growerology, respectively.
OK, that's not true; Rubin is an assistant professor in Urology at Georgetown University and medical advisor to Promescent, and Cohen is a urologist and assistant professor of urology and OBGYN at NYU Langone Health.
Anyway, Rubin was categoric in her conclusion.
"There is definitely truth to the grower vs. shower dynamic," she said.
"Just like height, weight, hair colour, and facial features, penises come in all shapes and sizes. Some penises gain significant length and girth during an erection, and some don't."
As with the examples listed above, it's all about genetics. Some people may have a smaller than average flaccid penis that grows when erect, others might have a bigger than average flaccid penis, which will also get bigger when erect (though by how much will vary from person to person).
So perhaps a more accurate question would actually be: are you a shower and a grower, or just a grower?
Of course, there are many reasons why sometimes we may feel like showers, and other times we might feel like anything but.
"Various factors can change the penis size in the flaccid state, like the temperature of the room, cold water, stress levels, or exercise," Rubin explained.
Cohen added that the size of the man could also impact perception.
"Sometimes men who carry a little extra weight around the belly can have part of their [flaccid] penis hidden, so it may look like a smaller penis, but when they have an erection, the real length and girth is visible," he said.
Ultimately, though, we're all growers - some of us are just showers too.
"The penis is just a muscle," Cohen reasoned. "When blood flows there, it gets larger."
Whether or not you're a shower, Rubin said it shouldn't affect a fella's pleasure potential.
Whether it matters to women is a whole other story. You can read a study about women's preferred penis size here.
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