People are convinced No Nut November was started by legendary sitcom over 30 years ago
The month of November has arrived, which means one thing - apart from a cheeky Snickers, no nutting is allowed.
For around a decade, millions of men around the world have been joining in on the bizarre challenge which requires them to abstain from ejaculating for 30 days - which for most lads, is a big ask.
There's plenty of debate surrounding it all, with experts being left divided on whether there is any actual benefit to doing it.
Some people take part to test their level of self-control, while others reckon it gives their mental health and testosterone levels a boost.
Advert
But boffins have also warned that it could be a 'really dangerous' thing to take part in for certain people, so the jury is still out on the success of No Nut November (NNN) on a whole.
You might be wondering why on earth a load of blokes would want to run the risk of being plagued by 'blue balls' for an entire month, and it seems out that a legendary US sitcom might be to blame.
A lot of people are convinced that an episode of the 'show about nothing' which aired a whopping 32 years ago - in the month of November, of course - might have inspired the challenge for men not to masturbate this month.
The earliest record of No Nut November on the world wide web is an Urban Dictionary entry which was first published in 2011, but it only became popular on social media about six years later.
Still, whichever fella who came up with the w*nking-related challenge about 13 years ago had to be influenced by something, right?
And according to a lot of people on Reddit, it was Seinfeld co-creator Larry David who was the inspiration for it.
The comedian, 77, is the mastermind who came up with the humorous script for the eleventh episode of the fourth season, titled 'The Contest', alongside Jerry Seinfeld.
For those who haven't seen it, it follows friends Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer as they each attempt to outdo each other by abstaining from masturbation for the longest time.
Despite it's strange subject matter, 'The Contest' is considered as one of the best episodes of Seinfeld ever and it scooped a series of awards - including an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for David.
The comedian previously revealed where he got the idea for the episode during a chat with Variety - and it turns out, he had tried out the competition himself before getting his Seinfeld co-stars to do it.
He explained that while living in New York in the 80s, he ended up having a bet with one of his mates about how long they could last without masturbating.
The Curb Your Enthusiasm star said: "I can’t believe I have to discuss this at my ripe age. I don’t remember what the bet was. There must have been some money involved. I think it was a small amount."
"[The contest lasted] two days," David continued. "Maybe three. I just remember it didn’t last very long. I was surprised at how quickly it ended. I won handily, yes."
Eagle-eyed fans of the show picked up on this little tidbit of information so obviously, a host of people took to Reddit to heap praise on both the actor and Seinfeld.
One said: "The cast of Seinfeld did 'No Nut November' before it was cool," while another wrote: "No f**king way!"
A third added: "And won an award for it!"
While a fourth laughed: "'Treating his body like an amusement park' is stuck in my head forever."
Maybe sticking all nine seasons of Seinfeld or thinking about Larry David could be the secret to making it through No Nut November, eh lads?
Topics: TV, US News, Health, Sex and Relationships, Viral
Olivia Burke