It’s true. I confess. Today, I went to a Penis Museum! Only in Reykjavik, would this happen, of course. It’s so liberal here, it only took me 24 hours to see a naked man through a window doing his dishes!
The Phallalogical Museum of Reykjavik
I wasn’t really too up on the idea of the Icelandic Phallological Museum, AKA Penis Museum. My sister and my aunty who have previously been to Reykjavik both wanted to go in. I don’t think my sisters partner was too up on the idea of ‘pickled penises’, so the onus was on me to check it out during my extended trip! Here goes…
Today I visited a Penis Museum
First of all, if you want to entertain your guests, bring the shots in on a ‘Penis Tray’.
Or, you could carry alcohol around with you in a Phallic carry case…
I walked further in, only to be greeted by a Phallus shaped Totem Pole bigger than myself…
Could it get any worse? Hell yeah! The museum preserves penis samples of over 215 land and sea creatures that live in Iceland, including the penises of 55 Whales.
The first displays were of preserved ‘Whale Penises’. That’s a sperm whale Penis right there…
Some whale penises were wall mounted in trophy fashion…
The Reindeer Penis was the furriest…eugh. I was starting to feel sick to the stomach at this point (thanks Hayley!).
The specimens went on and on, promoting me to ask the guy behind the counter what the story was behind this bizarre museum. The founder was a teacher and historian called Sigurður Hjartarson (born 1941), who says,
“The foundation was laid in 1974 when I got a pizzle or a bull‘s penis. As a child I was sent into the countryside during summer vacations and there I was given a pizzle as a whip for the animals. At that time in 1974 I was living in the town of Akranes on the south-west coast, working as the headmaster in a secondary school. Some of my teachers used to work in summer in a nearby whaling station and after the first specimen they started bringing me whale penises, supposedly to tease me. Then the idea came up gradually that it might be interesting collecting specimens from more mammalian species.” (Sigurður Hjartarson)
And of course, last but not least, I know that you are dying to see the preserved human penis. Guess which specimin was the most shrivelled, small and disgusted of them all? Man!
Would you dare to visit the Penis Museum?
You might also be interested in reading Iceland – Things you need to know Before you Go and the South Coast of Iceland.