Scuba Dive

Sometimes when I am surfing the net looking for blog post ideas, I really struggle to find unique, humorous topics to discuss.  This is not one of those days.  Thank you, National Geographic, for making my job so easy.

The NG Channel has an interesting series on the science behind wild animals and natural phenomenon.  Last night they ran a fabulous episode, but don’t worry, they are re-running it several times.

“In January 2004, a dead sperm whale weighing over 50 tons washed up on the coast of Tainan, Taipei. On the way to Tainan University for research, the whale exploded due to volatile gas build up in its abdomen.”

So this already deceased whale washes up on shore (if they had killed it I would not run this story), and someone comes up with the brilliant idea to strap it to a flat bed truck and drive it over to the research lab at the University to determine the cause of death and study the species.  Oh yes, there are pictures of it riding the flat bed.  Apparently there are no back roads in Taipei, so they have to take it straight through town. Oh yes, there are pictures of it cruising the town.   At about the same time the whale is touring the sites, a very unlucky man parks his car in front of the local supermarket and runs in for just a few items.  Oh yes, there are pictures of the formerly white car.  Oh no, I don’t mean the dead whale leaked a bit on the way there.  It actually exploded forcibly, spewing its unfortunate contents all over the street, sidewalk, passersby, cars, etc.

There are other fascinating photos on the NG website, such as a worker hosing whale entrails off the street (really now, what else could they do?)  I also like the quote in the story that “Local residents were overwhelmed by the stench from the whale.”  Strangely absent, however, was any quote establishing that “Local residents were surprised by the appearance of the whale outside their apartment windows” in the first place.