The Poozeum is a museum in Williams, Arizona, United States, 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, US |
| Coordinates | 35°15′4.1″N 112°11′15.9″W / 35.251139°N 112.187750°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 be from a Tyrannosaurus rex.
History
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]
Frandsen was motivated to establish the Poozeum due to the lack 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 traveling 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]
Operations
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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] 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.[10]
The museum includes a replica of Titanosaur poop, measuring 4 ft (1.2 m) in length.[11] 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.[12]
Barnum, the largest carnivore coprolite
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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 for Barnum Brown, the paleontologist who originally discovered the T. rex, and for 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 analysis of the coprolite using X-ray fluorescence determined that significant quantities of calcium and phosphorus were present. Crushed bone inclusions were also found within the specimen. Barnum holds the Guinness World Record for being the "world's largest fossilized excrement from a carnivore".[6]
Other coprolites
editFrandsen purchased from an online vendor a coprolite found near Summerville, South Carolina, which displayed bite marks. 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
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The Kraken, a coprolite from the Miocene weighing 1.056 kg (2.33 lb)
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Precious, a 1.92 kg (4.2 lb) coprolite that would be over 254 mm (10.0 in) long were it unbent
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A coprolite containing a complete toe bone from a Leptomeryx, a small deer-like ruminant
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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. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. 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". Guinness 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.
- ^ "An Arizona museum tells the stories of ancient animals through their fossilized poop". ABC4. Associated Press. July 1, 2024. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved July 14, 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.
- ^ a b "Meet Barnum, the T. Rex Poop - The World's Largest Coprolite". Poozeum. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. 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. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ Kachelriess, Rob (July 25, 2024). "The New Museum That's Filled with Literal Crap". Thrillist. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ "Episode 45: Poozeum". Curator's Choice. February 13, 2024. Event occurs at 30:26. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ "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.