Hundreds of dick pics have ”been destroyed” after an academic study was prematurely cut short by a researcher at Missouri State University.

Professor Alice Walker had already made waves on social media when it was announced that she would be soliciting up to 3,600 dick pics for her research into the relationship between penis size and self-esteem. Apparently, a few hundred men had already slid in to the university’s DMs with photos of their penises, sent strictly for research purposes.

”We need to be talking about men’s body dysmorphia, and the way our society worships size and the way that worship impacts men,” Walker told the New York Post last week. Walker collated research from participants in hospitals, nightclubs, and online portals. However, somewhat predictably, reports of her study had not generated the kind of serious discussions she had hoped for, and the professor soon decided to call an end to the research. The huge public response online and off meant answers from subjects couldn’t be trusted as much.

"I continue to believe the relationship between penis size and self-esteem is an important site of scientific inquiry, but the public reaction to the project threatens the reliability of the survey responses,” Walker declared in a statement. ”The reliability of the study as a whole has been compromised.”

All images from the study have since been destroyed. Nonetheless, for those who might be interested, Walker can reveal that the average penis length is 5 to 5.6 inches.

h/t Gizmodo