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| Established | 1997 |
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| Location | Hafnartorg, Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Coordinates | 64°08′55″N 21°56′09″W / 64.14862°N 21.93583°W |
| Collection size | Over 300 penises[1] 170 cm (67 in)–2 mm (0.08 in) |
| Visitors | 70,000 annually[2] |
| Founder | Sigurður Hjartarson |
| Website | www.phallus.is |
The Icelandic Phallological Museum (Icelandic: Hið íslenzka reðasafn [ˈhɪːð ˈistlɛnska ˈrɛːðaˌsapn̥]), located in Reykjavík, Iceland, houses the world's largest display of penises and penile parts. As of early 2020 the museum moved to a new location in Hafnartorg, three times the size of the previous one, and the collection holds well over 300 penises from more than 100 species of mammal. The museum also holds 22 penises from creatures and peoples of Icelandic folklore.
In July 2011, the museum obtained its first human penis, one of many promised by would-be donors. Its detachment from the donor's body did not go according to plan and it was reduced to a greyish-brown shriveled mass that was pickled in a jar of formalin. The museum continues to search for "a younger and a bigger and better one."[2]
Founded in 1997 by since-then retired teacher Sigurður Hjartarson and now run by his son Hjörtur Gísli Sigurðsson, the museum grew out of an interest in penises that began during Sigurður's childhood when he was given a cattle whip made from a bull's penis. He obtained the organs of Icelandic animals from sources around the country, with acquisitions ranging from the 170 cm (67 in) front tip of a blue whale penis to the 2 mm (0.08 in) baculum of a hamster, which can only be seen with a magnifying glass. The museum claims that its collection includes the penises of elves and trolls, though, as Icelandic folklore portrays such creatures as being invisible, they cannot be seen. The collection also features phallic art and crafts such as lampshades made from the scrotums of bulls.
The museum has become a popular tourist attraction with thousands of visitors a year and has received international media attention, including a Canadian documentary film called The Final Member, which covers the museum's quest to obtain a human penis. According to its mission statement, the museum aims to enable "individuals to undertake serious study into the field of phallology in an organized, scientific fashion."[3]
- ^ Singh, Khushwant (16 July 2011). "Last but not the least". The Telegraph. Kolkata. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
AFPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Pielak, Alex (11 July 2011). "Museum in Iceland home to world's biggest collection of penises". Metro. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2011.