The iceberg, dubbed "Dickie Berg" by locals, is a penis-shaped block of ice floating in Conception Bay, an area not too far from the town of Dildo, Newfoundland.
Ken Pretty, a photographer and resident of Dildo, Newfoundland, was taking photos with his drone in late April when he stumbled across a strange sight: a phallus-shaped iceberg floating in the appropriately-named Conception Bay.
After capturing some drone photos of the iceberg, Pretty posted the images on his Facebook page, saying that he guessed he would “get a few comments on this one,” according to Insider.
Harbour Grace iceberg taken today April 27, 2023
Posted by Ken Pretty on Thursday, April 27, 2023
Days later, Pretty’s post had blown up, garnering hundreds of comments and likes and thousands of shares.
People around the globe found joy at the photos, writing in the comments: “Mother Nature does have a sense of humor” and “Well, we’ll know whose to blame if a bunch of baby icebergs start popping up in the Atlantic.”
“I knew I’d get a lot of comments, but I didn’t expect this much,” Pretty told Saltwire.
The iceberg itself, referred to as “Dickie Berg” by locals, is a 30-foot to 50-foot tall column of ice with a domed head protruding from two circular blocks of ice.
Pretty told The Guardian that the find was a lucky one:
“Looking from the land, it wasn’t quite clear. But once I got the drone out there, it was unreal how much it looked like – well, you know.”
The iceberg looked so similar to the male reproductive organ that many people thought the images might’ve been faked.
“People don’t believe it’s real. They think it’s photoshopped and all that,” Pretty told The Guardian. “I can tell you – it’s real.”
Only a day after photographing the iceberg, however, Pretty found out that its top had collapsed. Despite this loss, Pretty kept his good humor.
“The day after I took the picture, the ‘shape’ of interest collapsed, so I probably have the last ‘erect’ picture of it,” Pretty told Insider.
One user even posted a memorial video for the iceberg featuring funerary doves and set to Sarah McLachlan, with the caption: “Gone, but not forgotten. Forever in our hearts.”
Pretty acknowledges that the name of his hometown also played a big role in the story going viral.
“I’m from Dildo, so imagine if [the iceberg] came into Dildo, how much traction it would get,” Pretty said to Saltwire.
While the sight of a penis-shaped iceberg is unusual, the presence of icebergs in Newfoundland, where the town of Dildo is located, is quite common.
Ocean currents from the north push freezing water into Newfoundland and Labrador in the Spring, resulting in hundreds of icebergs and some of the cleanest water in the world.
The Newfoundland and Labrador governments even set up an Iceberg Finder website, which allows residents to locate, track, and upload images of icebergs as they move through their waters.
With frequent icy visitors, the region has had other phallic incidents in the past.
In 2017, guests on a horticulture tour snapped pictures of another phallic iceberg floating around Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula.
Even further back, icebergs have taken the form of other surprising shapes, including that of the Virgin Mary. In 1905, residents noticed this holy iceberg floating in their waterways and snapped a photo of it.
When The Canadian Press asked Pretty if his discovery would join the ranks of other historically significant iceberg sightings, he laughed:
“We’ll see.”
After reading about the penis-shaped iceberg, learn about the phallic Roman relic that may be the world’s oldest sex toy. Then, discover the story behind the ultra-rare “penis plants,” the carnivorous plants that the Cambodian government is desperate to protect.