A story from my days at Mawson was told about Repstat (the replacement for Wilkes that was later named Casey) was that the station doctor knew all the medical details of the (entirely male) expeditioners and consequently knew who was and who wasn't circumcised. Over drinks in the mess he frequently advertised his ability to perform such an operation with "I only charge a slab", meaning two dozen cans of (rationed) beer, the universal ANARE currency.

After a while and still early in the year, the cook decided to take him up on his offer, providing he could keep the detached item in a jar; "i'm out of circulation for the year anyway" was his justification. After the op. he kept the jar, labelled and preserving the item in ethanol, prominently displayed on a shelf in the kitchen. It became the subject of ongoing jokes.

The cook was also often the butt of jokes about his cooking ability until one evening, quite late in the year, when he served up a magnificent stew that was universally praised. When he was asked what he had done to improve his cooking he said nothing but just pointed to the shelf; the jar was there, in its usual place, but empty.

Cheers, Rowan