User talk:Nike/Hitlers ball

Hitler's only got one...

Hi Nike. You reverted my edit in the Hitler article where I removed the part about him only having one testicle, on the grounds that some evidence exists to support this fact. Can you please elaborate? The only mention of this 'fact' that I know of is in the song, which was clearly made up to ridicule Hitler and was not, as far as I am aware, based on any real world information. Please cite your sources. --HappyDog 12:46, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

First of all, the factuality of the missing testicle is not at issue, because the sentence in question states, "Hitler's medical health has long been the subject of debate, and he has variously been suggested to suffer from..." It then lists various things that he has been said to suffer from. Whether or not he actual did suffer from any of these does not invalidate the fact that it has been suggested. The first part of the sentence refers to the fact that there is debate about these suggestions. One only has to Google to find that the debate does, indeed, exist. The article is properly NPOV in referring to the debate.

And of all the claims listed, this one does, indeed, seem to have some factual basis, as it was apparently stated in the autopsy records which were released from Soviet archives. See Did Hitler have only one testicle?:

One such book published in 1968 was particularly interesting, and it's here we get back to the question of Hitler's missing organs. The book included the report of the autopsy performed on Hitler's bod by Russian pathologists. This contained the startling news that Hitler's "left testicle could not be found either in the scrotum or on the spermatic cord inside the inguinal canal, or in the small pelvis. . . ."

Hitler's World War I company commander, however, offered some support for the Russian finding. He said he'd discovered Hitler's missing testicle as a result of a wartime VD exam.

Again, even if these claims are untrue, the statement made in the article, i.e. that the debate exists, clearly is.

You should read carefully what is actually said and do your own research before vandalising an existing article. The very least you could have done is ask the question on the talk page.

It didn't occur to me until after I wrote the above to search Wikipedia, and there is actually a Wikipedia article titled Hitler has only got one ball. -- Nike 05:38, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Please don't take this the wrong way as well, but you are being a little over-sensitive about this. I removed the testicle line because, as far as I was aware the only mention about this is in the song. I have of course read the article (I'm not stupid!) but it seems to me that a simple mention in a song does not constitute 'a debate'. This is similar to how I would edit an article on The Grand Old Duke Of York if it claimed there was some debate as to whether he had ten thousand men. In your reversion you said there was 'some evidence' to support the statement, without backing it up with any facts. I simply asked for a reference, which you have now supplied. Thank you.

As a gentle request to smooth over future relations with other Wikipedians, I would suggest that you are a little more careful with your choice of words in situations such as this. I am quite offended that you refer to my edit as vandalism, when it was clearly just an incorrect edit. There was no need to be so confrontational! Sometimes people make mistakes, but thankfully there are people around to catch them when they happen. Vandalism is a loaded term, and accusing a long-time Wikipedean of deliberately damaging an article will not gain you any friends. --HappyDog 14:38, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I am sorry if I offended you. I can see now that you did not intend vandalism, but it did resemble other instances of vandalism, where someone adds something irrelevant, or removes something relevant. I take that back. However, my other comments still apply. If you had actually read the other article, you would have seen that the documentary information is mentioned there, and that the references are listed under "External links." If you had made even the most cursory search, either of Google or Wikipedia, you would have seen that the "debate" goes far beyond one song. -- Nike 04:03, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)