Why did van Gogh cut off his ear?

Finally, one right up my alley!! VanGogh, as is often the case with Artists and other creative types, suffered from mental illness and an addiction to Absinthe, also known as "the green fairy"(which is now banned in the US)and was quite fond of visiting prostitutes. Technically he didn't "lose" his ear, he cut off only the lobe of his left ear and gave it, in an envelope, to a prostitute named Rachel at a brothel he frequented, with the instructions to "guard this object carefully". An accurate diagnosis of Van Gogh's illness is still unavailable, but we do know a few things for sure: 1)he acquired syphillis from the prostitutes he visited and 2)there was a family history of mental illness. Recently, a new theory has evolved which states something to the effect that he may have had a congenital brain lesion that was exacerbated by his regular ingestion of absinthe. Hope that helps! Cheers! *That is true. He cut it off and brought it to a woman at a brothel. He was a very odd person. He once urinated in the fireplace of the queens castle for no particular reason. I added a link to the right. If you would like to read more about the ear you can find the information on that site. See link below.