Yes, It's True: Star Trek Klingons Have Two Of, Uh, Every Organ
A great deal of the aliens in the "Star Trek" franchise are humanoid for pretty practical reasons (they have human actors!), but that doesn't mean that they have the exact same anatomy. We know that Vulcans are much stronger than your basic Earth humans, for example, and Cardassians really can't handle freezing temperatures because they're thought to be cold-blooded, like reptiles on our own world. One of the most notorious bits of trivia about alien anatomy on "Star Trek" revolves around the Klingons, however, and their unusual "anatomical redundancy."
The idea was introduced into the canon in a 1992 episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," when Klingon Starfleet officer Worf needed to undergo serious surgery and it was revealed that Klingons have extras of many of their organs in case the first ones are injured or fail. They have two hearts, three lungs, and various other redundancies, but the one that fans fixated on was, well, their genitals. That's right, Klingons have two sets of reproductive organs, which means two vaginas and two penises!
The whole double-dong thing was mostly just fan conjecture for years until the writers of "Star Trek: Discovery" decided to make it canon, putting pretty clear evidence of dual dingalings in the season 1 finale. While guesting on the Alpha Quadrant Podcast (via TrekMovie.com), writer Yeon Kim revealed the full story behind this bizarre bit of alien biology, and it's honestly kind of comical.
Whizzin' on a wall
Apparently the writers' room of "Star Trek: Discovery" is just like any group of "Star Trek" fans, and the conversation eventually turned to some of the sillier sexy theories in the franchise. ("Star Trek" has always been horny, and that rules.) Apparently the series executive producer and director Akiva Goldsman thought the idea of Klingons having dual sex organs was kind of amusing, and it made its way onto the show:
"That was an ongoing writers' room debate. According to canon, Klingons have two organs, they have two of everything, right? So ... we had this debate, when we say two of everything, does that include the penis? ... I think this was something that Akiva really liked the notion of. He just kept joking, 'Klingons have two dicks, Klingons have two dicks.' And then finally showed it on television."
As someone who's argued about the anatomy of "Star Trek" aliens and various comic book characters for decades now, having it confirmed in such a big and bold way was pretty freaking fun. It's a bit juvenile, of course, but part of what makes "Star Trek" so great is that it can combine high-minded ideas and very serious allegory with some much sillier stuff as well. "Star Trek: Discovery" will be ending with its fifth season, but that doesn't mean we've seen or heard the last about Klingon genitalia. After all, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" has no fear of crude humor, so paired penises are sure to make some kind of appearance, right?