A Man in Dildo, Newfoundland Flew His Drone and Came Back With This Photo

In April 2023, Ken Pretty was flying his drone over Conception Bay, Newfoundland when he spotted something remarkable — an iceberg with an unmistakably suggestive shape drifting through the water.

Pretty, a resident of the nearby town of Dildo, captured the photo and shared it online. Within days, it had gone viral worldwide. The Guardian, CBC, TMZ, and dozens of other outlets picked it up. The combination of the iceberg's shape and the photographer's hometown proved irresistible to the internet.

The Town Called Dildo

Dildo is a small community of around 800 people on the southeastern arm of Trinity Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador. The name has been documented since at least 1711, when "Dildoe" appeared on maps referring to the nearby island. The community itself grew during the late 1700s.

Nobody knows for certain where the name came from. Theories include a corruption of a Portuguese or Spanish word, a reference to a type of tree or a cylindrical pin used in boat building (called a thole pin), or simply an old English word for a phallic-shaped object. The origin remains officially undetermined.

They Won't Change It

Over the years, there have been multiple campaigns to rename the town. In the 1980s, a resident named Robert Elford circulated a petition suggesting names like "Seaview" or "Pretty Cove." In 1990, he tried again, pushing for "Baytona." Both efforts failed to gain support.

The town embraced its name instead. Dildo has a museum, a community centre, and signs that tourists regularly stop to photograph. The name has become a point of local pride rather than embarrassment.

The Photo

Ken Pretty's iceberg photo became one of the most shared images of 2023. News outlets called it "the dickie berg." The photo was taken over Conception Bay, not in Dildo's harbour itself, but the photographer's hometown ensured the connection was made immediately.

Pretty told CBC he was "just doing his usual drone flight" when he spotted it. The iceberg, like all icebergs off the Newfoundland coast, eventually melted and disappeared. The photos, and the town's reputation, did not.