The Poozeum is a museum in Williams, Arizona, dedicated to coprolites (fossilized feces). It was founded in 2014 as a website and resource center by George Frandsen, who owns the world's largest collection of coprolites. Pieces from Frandsen's collection served as a traveling exhibition before the Poozeum opened its physical location in 2024.
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| Established | 2014 |
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| Location | Williams, Arizona |
| Coordinates | 35°15′04″N 112°11′16″W / 35.251139°N 112.18775°W |
| Type | Private museum |
| Key holdings | Barnum |
| Collection size | 8,000 coprolites |
| Owner | George Frandsen |
| Website | poozeum |
The Poozeum includes 8,000 coprolites, including Barnum, the largest coprolite by a carnivore to have been discovered, a 9.28 kg (20.5 lb) specimen believed to have been pooped by a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Background
editPoozeum founder George Frandsen began collecting coprolites as an 18-year-old, purchasing his first piece of fossilized feces from a rock and fossil store in Moab, Utah.[1][2] He expanded his collection over the years, and by 2016 it included 1,277 specimens and was recognized as the largest collection of its kind in the world, earning it a Guinness World Record.[3] By 2021, the collection had grown to 5,000 coprolites. To differentiate coprolites from rocks, Frandsen examines their shape, size, surface texture, contents/inclusions, location, and chemistry.[4]
The museum
editFrandsen was motivated to establish the Poozeum due to the paucity of coprolite representation in museums.[2] The Poozeum was established as an online gallery in 2014. Frandsen, then based in Florida, would also lend his coprolites to museums as a travelling exhibition.[5][6][7] In 2024, Frandsen quit his corporate job, sold his house, and moved to Arizona to open a physical museum for the collection.[8]
The Poozeum opened in Williams, Arizona, along Route 66, on May 18, 2024.[9] It has the slogan, "#1 for fossilized #2",[5] and bills itself as the "world's premier dinosaur poop museum and gift shop", selling dinosaur-themed merchandise.[9] The museum includes a replica of Titanosaur poop, measuring 4 ft (1.2 m) in length.[10] Aside from the collection of coprolites, the museum has a bronze statue of a Tyrannosaurus rex squatting on a toilet. The statue, named The Stinker, is a nod to Auguste Rodin's The Thinker.[11]
Entry to the museum is free to the public.[9]
Coprolite collection
editThe Poozeum holds Frandsen's collection, which as of 2024 numbers 8,000 coprolites.[9] It includes coprolites dating from 10,000 years ago to 400 mya. The coprolites range in size from tiny pebble-sized specimens to a behemoth weighing over 9 kg (20 lb).[5] The collection includes crocodilian coprolites as well as those from dinosaurs.[12]
Barnum, the largest carnivore coprolite
edit
The coprolite Barnum is the largest known specimen from a carnivore.[2] Dating from the Late Cretaceous,[13] it is believed to have come from a Tyrannosaurus rex[14][15] and was discovered in the Hell Creek Formation on a ranch near Buffalo, South Dakota.[13] It was given the name Barnum after paleontologist Barnum Brown, who discovered the T. Rex, and the American showman P. T. Barnum.[16] The coprolite is 67.5 cm (26.6 in) long by 15.7 cm (6.2 in) wide and weighs 9.28 kg (20.5 lb).[17] An X-ray fluorescence analysis of the specimen showed the presence of phosphorous and calcium in significant amounts. It also contains a high percentage of crushed bone inclusions. Barnum holds the Guinness World Record for being the "world's largest fossilized excrement from a carnivore".[6]
Other coprolites
editFrandsen purchased a coprolite found near Summerville, South Carolina, with bite marks from an online vendor. The apparently unpalatable specimen was consistent with the shape and size of coprolites of crocodilians.[18]
Precious, a 1.92 kg (4.2 lb) coprolite, is the largest true-to-form coprolite ever discovered.[19]
Gallery
edit-
The Kraken, a coprolite from the Miocene weighing 1.056 kg (2.33 lb) -
Precious, a 1.92 kg (4.2 lb) coprolite that would be over 254 mm (10.0 in) long were it unbent -
A coprolite containing a complete toe bone from a Leptomeryx, a small deer-like ruminant -
A coprolite with distinct bite marks, possibly from a prehistoric gar fish
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "An Arizona museum tells the stories of ancient animals through their fossilized poop". AP News. July 1, 2024. Archived from the original on July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c Khalil, Hafsa (June 2, 2024). "Poo museum: New 'Poozeum' displays record fossilised collection". BBC. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Daley, Jason (November 17, 2016). "Collection of Fossilized Poo Certified as World's Largest". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ "How to Identify a coprolite". Poozeum. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c Uncle John's Hindsight Is 20/20 Bathroom Reader. Simon and Schuster. 2021. ISBN 978-1-64517-895-8. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Walker, Allison (August 17, 2021). "5 things to know about the 'crappy' Poozeum exhibit". Spectrum News 13. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Broom, Brian (April 7, 2023). "Dinosaur dung comes in big loads, small loads, and it's loads of fun at this unusual museum". The Clarion-Ledger. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Newman, Vicki (May 31, 2024). "Welcome to the Poozeum: Coprolite collector quits job to open museum of fossilized poo". Guiness World Records. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d White, Meredith G. (June 6, 2024). "Poozeum: World's biggest collection of fossilized poop comes to Arizona. Where to see it". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ "Poozeum". Atlas Obscura. June 25, 2024. Archived from the original on June 29, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Clemons, Marvin (May 6, 2024). "See the world's largest collection of dinosaur poop at Arizona's new 'Poozeum'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ "An Arizona museum tells the stories of ancient animals through their fossilized poop". ABC4. Associated Press. July 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "Meet Barnum, the T. Rex Poop - The World's Largest Coprolite". Poozeum. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ Cutway, Adrienne (July 15, 2021). "Dino dumps: World's largest fossilized carnivore poop now on display at the Orlando Science Center". WKMG.
- ^ Kachelriess, Rob (July 25, 2024). "The New Museum That's Filled with Literal Crap". Thrillist.
- ^ "Episode 45: Poozeum". Curator's Choice. February 13, 2024. Event occurs at 30:26.
- ^ "Largest coprolite from a carnivore". Guiness World Records. Archived from the original on July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Godfrey, Stephen J.; Frandsen, George (March 2016). "Vertebrate-Bitten Coprolite from South Carolina". The Ecphora. 31 (1). Calvert Marine Museum Fossil Club: 12–14. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Daley, Jason (November 17, 2016). "Collection of Fossilized Poo Certified as World's Largest". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
External links
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