The Icelandic Phallological Museum, in Reykjavík, Iceland, houses the world's largest display of penises and penile parts. The collection of 280 specimens from 93 species includes samples from whales (pictured), seals and land mammals. Exhibits are preserved in formaldehyde and displayed in jars or are dried and hung or mounted on the museum's walls and in display cases. The largest item on display once belonged to a blue whale; the smallest, from a hamster, can only be seen with a magnifying glass. The museum claims that it has specimens from elves and trolls that cannot be seen at all since, according to Icelandic folklore, these creatures are invisible. In July 2011, the museum obtained its first human specimen, but the preservation process did not go according to plan and the museum hopes to acquire a "younger and a bigger and better" example. Founded in 1997 by a retired teacher, it attracts thousands of visitors a year—the majority of them women—and has received international media attention. 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".
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_Phallological_Museum
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1243:
Following their successful siege of Montségur, French royal forces burned about 210 Cathar Perfecti and unrepentant credentes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Monts%C3%A9gur
1802:
The United States Congress authorized the establishment of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to operate the U.S. Military Academy (coat of arms pictured) at West Point, New York. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Academy
1962:
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, a charter flight carrying U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers, disappeared without a trace, prompting one of the largest air and sea searches in the history of the Pacific. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tiger_Line_Flight_739
1988:
Using pistols and grenades, loyalist Michael Stone attacked the funeral of three Provisional IRA volunteers who had been killed in Gibraltar ten days earlier, killing three attendees and injuring over 60 more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milltown_Cemetery_attack
2006:
The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
damnify: (law) To cause injuries or loss to. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damnify
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Each time dawn appears, the mystery is there in its entirety. --René Daumal https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Daumal