Iceland tourists potty for penises

It seems that puffins, waterfalls and whales are not the only thing visitors to Iceland are interested in seeing – in ever-increasing numbers it would appear they also want to get an eyeful of Icelandic phallus.

Guðrún Helga Sigurðardóttir recently interviewed curator and owner of the Icelandic Phallological Museum Hjörtur Gísli Sigurðsson, who is overjoyed at the popularity his museum is enjoying.

Visitor numbers in 2015 were 33,328 – up a massive 35% on the previous year – and Sigurðsson has had to take on extra staff to cope.

“The Icelandic Phallological Museum contains a collection of more than two hundred and fifteen penises and penile parts belonging to almost all the land and sea mammals that can be found in Iceland,” reads the museum’s website. This includes human penises.

According to Sigurðsson, 99% of visitors to the museum are foreign tourists, mostly from Asia, Europe and the US, with Icelanders showing surprisingly little interest in this mammoth collection of male members.

He puts the popularity of his museum down – at least in part – to the fact that it is unique in the world.

“Some visitors have told me that it would be impossible to have a museum like this where they come from,” he explains. “People would protest and boycott it, even though it has nothing to do with pornography. Phallology seems to be quite a sensitive subject.”

The full interview can be found on gayiceland.is here .