The Penis Museum, or Icelandic Phallological Museum, is a museum entirely dedicated to phallology, or the study of mammalian phalli. It houses no fewer than 286 penises, from 46 species different.
Founded in 1997 by Sigurdur Hjartarson, a historian and penis collector, the museum was originally located in the small town of Húsavík. It is now run by his son, Hjortur Sigurdsson, and moved in 2012 to the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, on one of the main shopping streets.
The Penis Museum isn’t very big, but they say size doesn’t matter. A visit takes around thirty minutes on average, and the explanations accompanying the objects and specimens on display are translated into several languages, including French. Entry costs around ten euros.
The premises are open to all : it’s simply a matter of biology, not about eroticism. As a result, many school groups visit it. But if natural history museums tend to bore you, don’t worry: the atmosphere of the Phallological Museum, somewhere between amusement and curiosity, is far from monotonous.
The Icelandic Phallological Museum in pictures
Thanks to the many photographs taken by its visitors, we can set off together for a virtual visit to the Icelandic Phallological Museum.
Animal penises
This museum has mammal penises of all kinds, stuffed, dried or preserved in formalin, from all over the world. The genitalia of whales and orcas are the most imposing pieces in its collection. Did you know that the blue whale is the animal with the longest penis, with a penis that can measure up to three metres long? As for terrestrial mammals, it’s theAfrican elephant which holds the record, with a dick that can reach two metres. The Phallological Museum also exhibits a large number ofpenile bones , orbaculum . This bone is present in the phallus of many mammals, including the dog, the raccoon, the walrus or the seal. Since 2011, the Icelandic Penis Museum even has ahuman specimen , who died at the age of 95. A showman and a joker, he loved being in the spotlight, and donating his member to the Phallological Museum allowed him to achieve immortality while showing his wee wee to tourists. Before his death, Pall nonetheless declared himself somewhatPall Arason embarrassed that his organ had shrunk somewhat in the last years of his life. Visitors will probably be surprised by the presence of a few supernatural specimens : namely, the penises of a merman, covered in moss, a troll, made of stone, a ghost, white and ethereal, and an elf, invisible. This is, of course, a touch of humour from the museum’s curator.
Phallic curiosities
The Penis Museum also exhibits a number of phallic curiosities, from works of art to kitchen utensils. It also has a souvenir shop, where you can buy various wee-wee-shaped objects.
All these penises, that’s all very well, but what about the vags? From a biological standpoint, the vaginas of many mammals are still poorly understood. And for a good, simple reason: few people have really taken an interest in them up until now. Indeed, the female organ, being less prominent, has attracted less curiosity from scientists, who for a long time were predominantly men. In 2020, a Vagina Museum opened its doors in London, partly with the aim of addressing this imbalance in attention. It features, among other things, a work titled a work titled The Great Wall of Vagina, a wall bringing together 400 plaster moulds of vulvas. See also: the Icelandic Penis Museum. See also: the official website
Photo sources: Flickr galleries by Jennifer Boyer, ulalume, Zaldun Urdina, El Coleccionista de Instantes Fotografía & Video, albedo20, Creative Commons.
