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Blue whale skeleton at New Bedford museum still oozing oil

(www.wpri.com)
201 points geox | 2 comments | 17 Oct 24 23:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.039s | source
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firefoxd ◴[19 Oct 24 15:41 UTC] No.41888432[source]▶
You have to see those whales skeletons in person to understand their sheer size. And if you want to know more than you need to about whales, pick up a copy of Moby Dick. Don't be intimidated by the size. I still can't believe this book was written in the 1800s. Catching a whale was akin to striking oil.
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gurjeet ◴[19 Oct 24 15:48 UTC] No.41888488[source]▶
> to understand their sheer size

In the linked article, towards the middle, the photo shows 2 people reading the plaque next to a pink structure, which appears to be that of a whale's heart. That, combined with the skeleton hanging over them, should give us an idea that we are no bigger to these whales, than probably an average snail is to us (between 5 cm and 9 cm).

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dmd ◴[19 Oct 24 17:41 UTC] No.41889264[source]▶
The average snail is 2-5 cm, not 5-9 cm. Just sayin.
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ygra ◴[19 Oct 24 17:55 UTC] No.41889364[source]▶
Perhaps they meant slugs. In German at least, both are called Schnecken (just one is naked), so perhaps that persists in other languages as well.
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1. mkl ◴[19 Oct 24 23:50 UTC] No.41891744[source]▶
I think it's more likely different species in different places. I, in NZ, don't think I've ever seen a slug as much as 5cm long, let alone 9cm.
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2. amanaplanacanal ◴[20 Oct 24 13:51 UTC] No.41895359[source]▶
Look up banana slug. Common where I live.