Joining other cultures accustomed to plenty of overeducated, ego-inflated (and yet single) yuppies wandering the nether regions of the social dating circle, The New York Times reports on the growing popularity of Muslim speed dating.

In other, unrelated news:

As featured in BoingBoing (thanks Kevin), Chinese doctors in Guangzhou have succeeded in the world’s first penis transplant. But despite normal functioning, the operation was not an unqualified success:

“Because of a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife, the transplanted penis regretfully had to be cut off,” Dr Hu said. An examination of the organ showed no signs of it being rejected by the body.

The paper published in European Urology1 had more to say on this matter:

The recipient was chosen and underwent a penile transplantation [partly because of] his strong demand for recovery of his ability to void while standing and to have normal intercourse

[...]

Very traditional Chinese think of the penis as a “lifespring” to carry on the ancestral line; indeed, they regard it to be the symbol of man. Therefore, to a certain extent and to some Chinese, the penis bears more symbolic meaning than its physiologic function.

[...]

Psychological problems are worth high attention during pre- and postoperative periods, especially for a patient’s wife.

We think that, although we had done as much extensive research as we could preoperatively, what happened after the operation was still beyond our and the patient’s imagination because this was the first attempted transplantation. The patient finally decided to give up the treatment because of the wife’s psychological rejection as well as the swollen shape of the transplanted penis. So the patient was ready for the operation physiologically and psychologically, especially with regard to his wife. The patient was also prepared for the worst—to cut off the transplanted penis if he could not accept it. We respected the patient’s opinion, and appreciated the donor’s and the patient’s contribution to the first medical attempt at penis transplantation. Restoration of sexual function and sensation requires further observation in more cases over a long time.

1. Hu W, Lu J, Zhang L, Wu W, Nie H, Zhu Y, Deng Z, Zhao Y, Sheng W, Chao Q, Qiu X, Yang J, Bai Y, Vardi Y, “A Preliminary Report of Penile Transplantation: Part 2″ European Urology, doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2006.07.038