Forty Foot Octopus Found Beached in Chile

[The PIT]

It's hpar_ Now identified he's now ceased to post.

[Jon P. Inghram]

I wonder if they'll do this to get rid of the remains.

[The PIT]

Too kind for Hpar_

[az]

What kind of a name is "Sperm Whale" anyway?

AZ

[cjolley]

Originally posted by Jon P. Inghram
I wonder if they'll do this to get rid of the remains.

Been bookmarked for at least 6 years.
That is my favorite thing I have ever found on the internet
chuck

[Dr Mordrid]

Originally posted by az
What kind of a name is "Sperm Whale" anyway?

AZ

Maybe because they have a 2 meter long penis?

Interesting sperm whale story;

"In February 1891 the English whaler "Star of The East" sighted a sperm whale near the Falklands. Two whale boats were launched. Before long the whale was struck with a harpoon and began to sound hitting and capsizing one of the boats with its tail tossing the crew into the sea. The men in the other boat managed to kill the whale. One man drowned and the rest were accounted for but James Bartley who was lost. The crew worked all day "cutting in" their prize.

The next day while hoisting the stomach aboard the men thought they saw movement. Upon cutting the stomach open they found James Bartley unconscious. Parts of his body were white from the exposure to the acid in the whales stomach. When well enough to talk Bartley remembered being tossed into the sea then being engulfed in darkness and of moving through a passageway. He felt intense heat and groping about he felt the slimy walls of his prison. The shock of realizing to his horror where he was is the last thing he remembered until waking up aboard the ship."

Dr. Mordrid

[KvHagedorn]

Originally posted by az
What kind of a name is "Sperm Whale" anyway?

AZ

"This washes up and has the appearance of an octopus because the spermaceti organ keeps its bulky shape," they added.

The spermaceti is a large bulbous organ that forms a sort of forehead and contains a milky wax which early whalers likened to sperm fluid.

[KvHagedorn]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
Maybe because they have a 2 meter long penis?

Interesting sperm whale story;

"In February 1891 the English whaler "Star of The East" sighted a sperm whale near the Falklands. Two whale boats were launched. Before long the whale was struck with a harpoon and began to sound hitting and capsizing one of the boats with its tail tossing the crew into the sea. The men in the other boat managed to kill the whale. One man drowned and the rest were accounted for but James Bartley who was lost. The crew worked all day "cutting in" their prize.

The next day while hoisting the stomach aboard the men thought they saw movement. Upon cutting the stomach open they found James Bartley unconscious. Parts of his body were white from the exposure to the acid in the whales stomach. When well enough to talk Bartley remembered being tossed into the sea then being engulfed in darkness and of moving through a passageway. He felt intense heat and groping about he felt the slimy walls of his prison. The shock of realizing to his horror where he was is the last thing he remembered until waking up aboard the ship."

Dr. Mordrid

Now this is a grim tale.. wonder how many people other than this guy and Jonah can recount being swallowed whole by a whale?

The sperm whale is one of the most remarkable species on Earth. Some think this is the most intelligent whale species, and they dive the deepest depths (2000-3000 meters.) Interestingly enough, though this did not turn out to be an octopus, the sperm whale has been documented to have eaten giant squid. A huge squid beak was found in the stomach of one, and sucker marks the size of dinner plates were found on its body.

[Gurm]

Yep. That's one of the primary reasons that we know for certain that giant squid exist - because sperm whales eat 'em for lunch.

- Gurm

[KvHagedorn]

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/squid_Architeuthis.html

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/squid_expedition.html

[Dr Mordrid]

The giant squid is actually called "architeuthis" (Ar`chi*teu"this).

Dr. Mordrid

[Brian Ellis]

I thought that that was a guy who designed large apartment blocks and forgot to put toilets in