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A man from Italy is seeking €400,000 (£354,000) in compensation after surgeons allegedly wrongly amputated his penis, believing it to be cancerous. It was later discovered that he had a form of syphilis that could have been treated with medication. The surgery occurred in November 2018 at San Donato Hospital in Arezzo, Tuscany, and the patient, now 68 years old, intends to take the 35-year-old urologist responsible to court. A preliminary hearing in a court in Arezzo next month will determine whether the case will proceed to trial. The man has requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation and claims to have suffered significant physical and psychological harm. The surgeon, who is highly respected, no longer works at the Tuscany hospital but now operates in a Milan hospital. According to local newspaper Corriere di Arezzo, the man’s experience was both painful and embarrassing.

A recently surfaced 1864 letter provides a glimpse into a little-discussed affliction among Civil War soldiers – chronic masturbation.

The handwritten note by Confederate Lt. William Dandridge Pitts inquires about the condition of his brother Charles, who was discharged from the army in 1862 due to an unspecified “illness.” Charles was residing at the Western Lunatic Asylum in Virginia.

According to Charles’ doctor and accounts from fellow soldiers, his illness was a relentless addiction to masturbation. “I have had some conversation with the physician who attended my brother previous to his going to the asylum,” Lt. Pitts wrote, “and he advises me…that [Charles] was addicted to masturbation, while in camp.”

The letter highlights the mental health toll of the war, even before combat began. Soldiers forced to endure their comrades’ “self-pollution” no doubt developed deep psychological scars.

While masturbation remained taboo in the Victorian era, it was pervasive enough in the military to earn the nickname “Johnny Reb.” The irony of this affliction among troops from Virginia, the “state for lovers,” was surely not lost on the Pitts family.

The letter survives in excellent condition despite its delicate subject matter. This “director’s cut” offers intimate insight into secret struggles in Civil War ranks.

An Alabama gas station parking lot was the site of an unusual discovery when a human penis was found early Monday morning, according to a local newspaper. The gas station is situated on Interstate 10 in Mobile.

The Mobile Police Department suspects that the penis may have belonged to a victim of a fatal motorcycle accident that occurred on a nearby highway. Christopher Means, aged 29, passed away after losing control of his motorcycle and being struck by multiple vehicles.

The Mobile Police Department has confirmed to FOX News Digital that the penis discovered at the gas station is not linked to an assault or a murder. A gas station employee is said to have discovered the body part.

Though the police have not explained how the penis ended up at the gas station, local reports indicate that surveillance footage indicates that it may have dropped from a truck that had pulled over for fuel.