After conception, the human embryo develops as a female. Only after 6-8 weeks does the Y chromosome kick in and the foetus begins developing male characteristics. By this point breast tissue, milk ducts and nipples have already formed. This happens in all mammals, by the way, the only exception being stallions who do not posses nipples. Generally evolution will only weed out a characteristic if it proves detrimental to the organism, and of course, although having nipples provides no benefit to a man it has no ill effect either. Darwin (and others) wondered if at some point in the very distant past the males of a species from which we are descended suckled their young. Unfortunately there is nothing in the fossil record to prove this, and besides there are no male mammals today who feed their young. http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_doctor/nipples_men.shtml http://archive.salon.com/health/feature/1999/06/08/nipples/

I believe that having nipples is one of the characteristic inherited genes. When a girl is born, she would inherit one characteristic from each of her parents. So, if the father did not have nipples, she would inherit the no nipples characteristic which would result in an anomaly.

In the development cycle of the human fetus, the sequence that grows a nipple occurs before the sequence that species the difference between male and female. That means, everyone gets nipples, even though they are useless on a male.

For more silly questions/answers to post, pick up a copy of Mark Leyner & Billy Goldberg's #1 New York Times Bestseller, "Why Do Men Have Nipples?"... or, read on in the one you've already purchased! You find that sperm has nutritional value and why beans make you fart...

Mother Nature want all men to become a Trans-Gender :-)) It also gives a women the opportunity to suck on a man's nipples without having to turn gay. Everything has nipples.. why shouldn't men have them. My car has several "grease-nipples". ;-)) Nipples come FREE @ birth. ALSO.. Men have nipples for babies that don't like drinking milk. LOL .. The best way for a woman to make a guy giggle like a little girl is to play with his nipples..---> (just watch Mr Macho quiver and become UN-Macho.) The drink called a "hairy nipple" was created by a man with the thought of having a hairy nipple in a womans mouth.

In the embryo, the skin forms before sexual differentiation. So you better stick nipples on, just in case!

They are part of our design by God and have erogeneous nerve endings, so that men will often want to do it in a full-frontal position, thus encouraging intimacy and closeness with their wives, and not just adopt a position of maximum satisfaction to themselves.

because theyre born girls... if you have any babies that dont transform into men and are left a he she and you dont want them put them on a platter and give them to me.

Because females come first (cough). Before we are born, we are all female then develop into males (females exempt) and it's just one of the things left to stay, kinda like emotions. Guys have 'em, girls need them. ;)

'cos we all start out the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipple "Starting at conception and lasting until about 14 weeks, all mammalian fetuses within the same species look the same, regardless of gender. After 14 weeks, genetically-male fetuses begin producing male hormones such as testosterone. As "female" is the "developmental default" for mammals, by 14 weeks, the nipples have already formed." ...they don't have a purpose. They're a genetic mistake.

Male nipples are actually in place due to the fact that as babies in the womb all men start out as women, while zygotes, before developing male genitalia and hormones. Those that believe in evolution think that males were at one point able to produce milk and breastfeed babies. This has yet to be proven, as far as I'm aware. Currently there isn't much use for male nipples other than sexual purposing, if that's what you are in to, and perhaps peircing.

My boyfriend has them so that I can tweek them in the mornings to annoy him.

Starting at conception and lasting until about 14 weeks, all mammalian fetuses within the same species look the same, regardless of gender. After 14 weeks, genetically-male fetuses begin producing male hormones such as testosterone. As "female" is the "developmental default" for mammals, by 14 weeks, the nipples have already formed. Most of the time, males' nipples don't change much past this point. However, some males develop a condition known as Gynecomastia, in which the fatty tissue around the nipple develops into something similar to a female breast. This may happen whenever the testosterone level drops because of medications (like those that treat prostate cancer) and by natural hormonal changes associated with aging, obesity, or puberty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipples

The same as women's except for the breast feeding.

well so girls could play with them i mess with my bf and suck on his nipples sometimes he laughs and says it tickles

"You can milk just about anything with nipples" ­­­ "I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?" ­ ­ ­

to provide many questions for AB.

so they can be sucked on.... and driven crazy

Because they feel good when they're rubbed.

otherwise, where would the jam go?

Because men with boobs would look funny without them...

Let me ask you this, why do female have nipples? Well if you say producing milk serving as a purpose that's beside the point.

Because chicks need something to suck on too!

because in the cold his dick shrinks and it needs somewhere to go hence the saying 'nipple erectus'!!...lol..lol

Having man-boobs would be pretty pointless without them, don't you think?

sexual stimulation

For prisoners serving life terms.

Evolutionary bi-product that has yet to be edited from the gene pool I suppose. In the past it might have been possible for men to milk babies because there have been reported cases of men lactating in small amounts; albeit a very rare condition.

May I HIGHLY recommend the book with the title "Why Do Men Have Nipples: Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask Your Doctor After Your Third Martini" and its sequel "Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex: Even More Questions You'd Only Ask Your Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour" written by David Goldberg, M.D. (a doctor) and Mark Leyner (a comedian) Thoroughly hilarious, and totally educational... and it only discusses topics you REALLY want to know: Why are farts ignitable? Can people in wheelchairs still have sex? Does "Hair of the dog that bit you" cure a hangover" and of course, "Why do men have nipples?" ((Messrs. Goldberg and Leyner, if you're reading this, please email me for the address to which you may send my gift basket))

Where else would you put your nipple ring?

As you may know, every human being gets a unique set of 23 pairs of chromosomes at conception. These fall into two categories. One pair of chromosomes determines sex--the XX combination means you become female, the XY combination means you become male. The other 22 pairs, the non-sex chromosomes (they're called autosomes), supply what we might call the standard equipment that all humans get. These 22 pairs constitute an all-purpose genetic blueprint that in effect is programmed for either maleness or femaleness by the sex chromosomes. The programming is done by the hormones secreted by the sex glands. For example, the autosomes give you a voice box, while the sex hormones determine whether it's going to be a deep male voice or a high female voice. Similarly, the autosomes give you nipples, and the sex hormones determine whether said nipples are going to be functioning (in females) or not (in males).

So I can bite them during sex!

The same reason why women have nipples,except men don't get pregnant,and breast feed babies.

I went looking for you and found this answer which might help: To tell you the truth, nobody really knows. The best explanation I've been able to find (and frankly it doesn't explain very much) is that nipples aren't a sex-linked characteristic. In other words, nipples are just one of those sexually neutral pieces of equipment, like arms or brains, that humans get regardless of sex. As you may know, every human being gets a unique set of 23 pairs of chromosomes at conception. These fall into two categories. One pair of chromosomes determines sex--the XX combination means you become female, the XY combination means you become male. The other 22 pairs, the non-sex chromosomes (they're called autosomes), supply what we might call the standard equipment that all humans get. These 22 pairs constitute an all-purpose genetic blueprint that in effect is programmed for either maleness or femaleness by the sex chromosomes. The programming is done by the hormones secreted by the sex glands. For example, the autosomes give you a voice box, while the sex hormones determine whether it's going to be a deep male voice or a high female voice. Similarly, the autosomes give you nipples, and the sex hormones determine whether said nipples are going to be functioning (in females) or not (in males). One interesting consequence of the developmental set-up just described is that during the very early stages of fetal life, before the sex hormones have had a chance to do their stuff, all humans are basically bisexual. Among other things, you have two sets of primitive plumbing--one male, one female. Only one set develops into a mature urogenital system, but you retain traces of the other for the rest of your life. It's tempting, therefore, to say that male nipples are yet another vestige of your carefree bisexual youth. Trouble is, male nipples are hardly vestigial. They're full-sized and fully equipped with blood vessels, nerves, and all the usual appurtenances of functioning organs. Why this should be so nobody knows--in some other mammals, such as rats and mice, male nipple development is completely suppressed by the male sex hormones. (Incidentally, don't start thinking that at one time our human male ancestors must have suckled their young. So far as anybody knows, male lactation has never developed in any mammalian species.) Human nipples appear in the third or fourth week of development, well before the sex characteristics. (The sex hormones start to assert themselves at seven weeks.) As many as seven pairs of nipples are arranged along either side of a "milk line," a ridge of skin that runs from the upper chest to the navel. Normally only one pair amounts to anything, but on about one baby in a hundred you can detect some vestige of the other ones, usually on the order of a freckle. There are cases of women who ended up with an extra breast, which made them freak show candidates not so many years ago. Luckily today the women can avail themselves of corrective surgery while the rest of us can watch Jenny Jones. Anyway, both male and female babies are born with the main milk ducts intact--the gland that produces milk is there in the male, but it remains undeveloped unless stimulated by the female hormone, estrogen. Occasionally, a male baby is born with enough of his mother's estrogen in his body to produce a bizarre phenomenon known as "witches' milk," with the male glands, suitably stimulated, pumping away at the moment of birth. In the adult male, the dormant glands can still be revived by a sufficient dose of estrogen. Actual lactation is rare--only a couple cases have been recorded. But at least one writer (Daly, 1978) has suggested that the "physiological impediments to the evolution of male lactation do not seem individually surmountable." Meaning we may yet see the dawn of the truly liberated household. --CECIL ADAMS http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_093.html

So their high school buddies have something to twist!!

So they have something to barter when they go to prison.

At some point in the future it will be their turn to have babies so they have the equipment to nurse them.

See the following exert from the posted link: "The answer is that as embryos men and women have similar tissues and body parts. If anything the embryo follows a 'female template'. That is why nipples are present in both sexes. It is the effect of the genes, the Y chromosome and the hormone testosterone that brings about the changes and masculinises the embryo. Testosterone promotes the growth of the penis and testicles. Because nipples are there before this process begins the nipples stay! Nipples and breast tissue have no function as such except for perhaps protecting the heart and lungs from injury." http://menshealth.about.com/od/conditions/a/Nipples_Men.htm

actually men have nipples because for the first 6 or so weeks of pregnancy all children are female until either the male hormones kick in and grow into a boy. kk rate it

because god gave us em'

because we dont have pipples!

so we have some place to put oure nipple rings.

It has been medically proven that a man can breast feed so I guess it's a just in case kind of thing.

jax is bax technically your reply isn't quite accurate all men are women in the womb,not so! all male embryo start out as female, only as time goes on do they reach perfection.

"As you may know, every human being gets a unique set of 23 pairs of chromosomes at conception. These fall into two categories. One pair of chromosomes determines sex--the XX combination means you become female, the XY combination means you become male. The other 22 pairs, the non-sex chromosomes (they're called autosomes), supply what we might call the standard equipment that all humans get. These 22 pairs constitute an all-purpose genetic blueprint that in effect is programmed for either maleness or femaleness by the sex chromosomes. The programming is done by the hormones secreted by the sex glands. For example, the autosomes give you a voice box, while the sex hormones determine whether it's going to be a deep male voice or a high female voice. Similarly, the autosomes give you nipples, and the sex hormones determine whether said nipples are going to be functioning (in females) or not (in males). One interesting consequence of the developmental set-up just described is that during the very early stages of fetal life, before the sex hormones have had a chance to do their stuff, all humans are basically bisexual. Among other things, you have two sets of primitive plumbing--one male, one female. Only one set develops into a mature urogenital system, but you retain traces of the other for the rest of your life. It's tempting, therefore, to say that male nipples are yet another vestige of your carefree bisexual youth. Trouble is, male nipples are hardly vestigial. They're full-sized and fully equipped with blood vessels, nerves, and all the usual appurtenances of functioning organs. Why this should be so nobody knows--in some other mammals, such as rats and mice, male nipple development is completely suppressed by the male sex hormones. (Incidentally, don't start thinking that at one time our human male ancestors must have suckled their young. So far as anybody knows, male lactation has never developed in any mammalian species.) Human nipples appear in the third or fourth week of development, well before the sex characteristics. (The sex hormones start to assert themselves at seven weeks.) As many as seven pairs of nipples are arranged along either side of a "milk line," a ridge of skin that runs from the upper chest to the navel. Normally only one pair amounts to anything, but on about one baby in a hundred you can detect some vestige of the other ones, usually on the order of a freckle. There are cases of women who ended up with an extra breast, which made them freak show candidates not so many years ago. Luckily today the women can avail themselves of corrective surgery while the rest of us can watch Jenny Jones. Anyway, both male and female babies are born with the main milk ducts intact--the gland that produces milk is there in the male, but it remains undeveloped unless stimulated by the female hormone, estrogen. Occasionally, a male baby is born with enough of his mother's estrogen in his body to produce a bizarre phenomenon known as "witches' milk," with the male glands, suitably stimulated, pumping away at the moment of birth. In the adult male, the dormant glands can still be revived by a sufficient dose of estrogen. Actual lactation is rare--only a couple cases have been recorded. But at least one writer (Daly, 1978) has suggested that the "physiological impediments to the evolution of male lactation do not seem individually surmountable." Meaning we may yet see the dawn of the truly liberated household." http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_093.html Cool! :)

During embryological development, the human being starts with the capability to be male or female. Each cell has the full complement of genetic information capable of producing all the body part for males and females. By a process known as differentiation, cells specialize and become different from each other so that different organs form and the body takes shape. In the process of differentiation the early sex organs have the capability to be male or female, and under the influence of hormones, the organs become either male or female. The genetic information for nipples to form is present in all mammals including human beings regardless of whether the animal or human is male or female. The hormones that influence sex organ development in early foetal life have no effect on breasts. Adult breasts develop under the influence of adult female hormones. The male breast is perfectly capable of developing into a female breast which can produce milk, but the male body doesn't produce enough female hormones to make that happen. The basic answer is that breasts are genetically programmed into the body development of all mammals including humans, but they only grow and become capable of producing milk under the influence of certain female hormones.

To suck on. I mean not me but other women I guess.

Decoration.

actually men have 7 nipples, two that show and the rest are under the skin. A mans nipples do serve a purpose and can develope milk in times of famine or if the mother dies and a new born is present to stimulate this survival tool.

All humans begin life in the womb as females. If no Y chromosome is present in the foetus, then the embryo will continue to develop as and be born as a female. If there is a Y chromosome present in the embryo, the male sex hormone testosterone restricts the full development of breasts to just nipples

MAMMALS HAVE MAMMARY GLANDS! THATS THE WAY THEY WERE MADE!

it is god's will...i don't know for what...but perhapz it may be something to do with appearance...if they are not present wouldn't it be weird to look at...haha

to make girls feel less wierd for having them :P

why can some girls grow facial hair?

Essentially, because they can. There are 23 chromosomes, and only the X and Y are linked to gender. Any genetic change is much more likely to affect both men and women because we have most of our chromosomes in common. So given this we'd expect both men and women to have breasts and nipples. But breasts are a definite disadvantage to men: early human males had to spend a good deal of their energy hunting for food for the family not staying at home breast feeding. There are also some physical disadvantages to breasts for hunters in an age before bras are invented! Having twice as many people susceptible to breast cancer is also a bad idea, from an evolutionary stand point. So a hypothetical breast gene is more likely to be "sex-linked" and end up on a X chromosome and appear on women, whereas a nipple gene does no harm whereever it appears.

I think becuase every baby starts out as a girl, so even though certain ones change into little baby boys tey still have nipples. That and, it probably looks odd without them.

just for show i guess

BECAUSE MEN WERE WOMEN FIRST!!!!!!!! MWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (its the truth too... in a matter of biology and genetics)

because evolution we evolved from monkeys,and monkey males have nipples (which is sort of rare),well atleast the ones we evolved from,cant really remember which ones were those

So that we know how cold it is.

So women can suck on them.:-)

im not a cristian and i dont consider myself a member of any other religion,and i also dismiss the adam and eve thing as a pure metaphore i think life evolved just the way scientists say it did if you dont like me or your nipples,go check wiki :-)

to hang their shirts on

to pierce!

In the womb, men and women have similar tissues and body parts. If anything the embryo follows a 'female template'. That is why nipples are present in both sexes. Testosterone promotes the growth of the penis and testicles. Because nipples are there before this process begins the nipples stay! http://menshealth.about.com/od/conditions/a/Nipples_Men.htm

God had some left over and doesn't like waste.

Men can breastfeed. Also,it can sexually stimulate a man if the nipples are touched. Given enough estrogen men's boobs grow just like women's.

isnt it because we all start out as females?

for looks!! and pleasure...haha

All humans begin life in the womb as females. If no Y chromosome is present in the foetus, then the embryo will continue to develop as and be born as a female. If there is a Y chromosome present in the embryo, the male sex hormone testosterone restricts the full development of breasts to just nipples, the labia fuse to become the scrotum and clitoris develops fully to become a penis. If the Y chromosome prevails in producing a male, this is not done without a fight. Male babies are weaker as a result than female ones, occounting for the slightly higher death rate in male babies.

For kinky purposes.

The answer is that as embryos men and women have similar tissues and body parts. If anything the embryo follows a 'female template'. That is why nipples are present in both sexes. It is the effect of the genes, the Y chromosome and the hormone testosterone that brings about the changes and masculinises the embryo. Testosterone promotes the growth of the penis and testicles. Because nipples are there before this process begins the nipples stay! I think this is correct. Here is my source. http://menshealth.about.com/od/conditions/a/Nipples_Men.htm

Damn fine question, and one for the maker as well as; "Why is the sky blue?" Sure there are scientific reasons for it but does that really satisfy your urge to know "WTF?" Besides this reminds me of the statement "That is about as useful as tits on a bull!" which to me is the epitome of useless. Some however may disagree since I have heard of guys being highly aroused by having their nipples fondled. I however never got anything out of it, but HEY if it trips yer trigger go for it.

Because in the womb, everyone starts out as female. The Y chromosone develops a penis and testicles, later, after the nipples have developed.

God only knows...

If we didn't we would look like giant KEN dolls (with pee-pees yo...;)

Belly button is due to the umbilical cord. The female is the basic, default form of life. When a male is formed, it receives chemicals that turn the vagina and ovaries inside out to form a penis and testicles. Different hormone levels cause the breasts to not develop fully, hence the nipples. we grow taller, have more muscles, less fat, more tightly bound hips (for running and hunting), and are slightly more myopic. Then we're injected full of testosterone. We are basically the worker ants of the species. Mutated versions of the female form.

Correct me if I am wrong....but aren't they enjoyable during sex, if for nothing else?....and I am talking to the males.....

because all fetuses physically are female. Males start to develop at around 4-6 weeks gestation, i think.

omg..i just googled that and wish I hadnt. all fetus are bisexual (not kiddin) having the making of both male and female. The gist of it is, boys dont turn into boys until after the nipples develope. (get this guys) you will have undeveloped female plumbing in you until you die! so, get in touch with your feminine side(its not that far away)

bcuz they were born like that..and im glad men have nipples i get to suck my b/fs nipples lol

I think that it is because our distant ancestors over 1.5 billion years ago were assexual and when two sexesemerged, they never became totally sepparate. It is probably easier for nature to give male mammals redundant nipples than for them to have none while keeping them on female mammals.

That's a question better asked of en, don't you think?

Peer pressure. Just the way we're designed. Men have mammary glands; we just lack the hormones to "activate" them. Men can take pills to produce milk, if they so choose.

What's an "en"? =P

All embryos are female until a certain number of weeks.

Men have nipples because when we are in the womb, we all begin to develop as females. Yes guys, you were all going to be female. You men are probably exclaiming, "But wait! Why am I a male now?" Here is where your chromosomes kick in. While women have two X chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome. Basically, the male's Y chromosome does not begin to take action right away when you are developing in the womb. When your little developing body realizes it has a Y chromosome and is supposed to be male, your nipples have already been formed! So there you have it. All fetuses start off as females in the very beginning stages until the Y chromosome straggler realizes it's late for work.

Just think of men as "only-partially-developed women"

We begin life in the womb as females. Males only develop as the placenta is flooded with male hormones. Ergo, we keep the nipples.

There is no "purpose" to it. It is a developmental anomaly linked to the similarities between men and women.

Gives us something to masturbate to on really really lonely nights.

to yank on them very hard if they get out of control? LOL

A place to stick piercings.

Decoration

They are mammary glands just like the girls have, only very much smaller. They can become functional if given enough stimulation. When you think about it, it is highly adaptive for this to be so. Here is a link to the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_lactation And here is a video: I cannot embed it so you have to click the link: http://dethroner.com/2007/02/27/male-lactation-or-are-you-really-a-committed-father/

its just 'there'....

Like tits on a boar.

Something us girls can hold onto during the scarey parts of movies.

To grab and twist just to annoy them!