Almost exactly one year ago, this photo of a man wearing a disturbingly detailed ball sack surfaced and made its way around the internet.
Other than dry heaving on cue, the number one response to the photo was overwhelmingly "where can I get one?"
Well, the owner and creator of the backpack — a Canadian — tells BuzzFeed Canada he's officially launched a crowdfunder to get the "Scrote Tote" mass produced. (Translation: You too can now own one/a pair???? too.)
The fashion accessory is officially dubbed the "Scrote'N'Tote," and owner Daniel Bitton hopes his Indiegogo campaign will raise enough funds to get this into commercial production. Bitton initially proposed the project to Kickstarter, who turned it down without an explanation (even though their policy states that rejected proposals will be given a reason). We've reached out to Kickstarter.
But back to the pressing matters at hand...
Pitching in to the Scrote'N'Tote project will "entitle" customers to purchase one — or several — at a discounted price after their $33,000 goal is reached.
OK, break. If you're wondering how we got here and whether this is real life, the tote actually has a charming backstory. Oh, and capitalism.
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The story dates back 10 years ago when Daniel, then a film producer (but currently in law school), contacted his famous Hollywood prop designer friend to create a lifelike scrotum backpack for a movie he was working on.
His friend did him a...huge and produced the backpack for only half the cost. The original backpack retails for $2,000 and weighs 15 pounds. Daniel tells us it's made with state-of-the-art materials that anatomically look and feel like...the real thing.
After the single photo serendipitously floated online, he was inundated with requests, and Daniel jumped on the capitalistic opportunity. He's venturing to make an affordable and wearable version so that everyone will be equipped with a bag that "can scare your relatives and carry your things to school."
It's all very inspiring, really. "Our mission statement [is] to 'Make that money,'" he joked. "And to pay for law school."
Here's a fun fact: Daniel used grant money from the movie to fund the $1,000 prop. (Translation: The Canadian government paid for the Scrote'N'Tote.)
For the "untapped scrotum market," Daniel is dreaming big.
If this becomes a success, he envisions a line of female counterparts: "VagBag, Cliturese..."
"We're lifetime scrotum liberation activists," Daniel said, deadpan. "People are not comfortable with scrotums, but they're also beautiful in their disgustingness. It holds male power. And male power is weak. 'Cause all you need to do is kick it."
If you've seen enough scrotum satchels for the day, we now leave you with a few more photos so you can make the most informed consumer decision.
It's been sitting in the BuzzFeed Canada office for a month.