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Weapon Found in Whale Dated From the 1800s
LABarr writes "AP and CNN are carrying a story that has forced scientists to re-evaluate the longevity of mammals. A bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt over a century ago. 'Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3½-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old. The bomb lance fragment, lodged in a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder blade, was likely manufactured in New Bedford, on the southeast coast of Massachusetts, a major whaling center at that time. It was probably shot at the whale from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890.' "
... my whales under 50 and without their own hardware, thank you very much.
We need immediate laws to license and regular spear guns. Oh won't somebody think of the children?
Captain Ahab ALWAYS gets his whale... Eventually.
The 'weapon' was also patented. As a result the RIAA has dispatched a flock of attorneys and intends to bring to court not only the tribe that killed the 100 ~ 200 year old beast, but anyone waiting in line for a hunk of blubber.
Reason? Reports of singing by tribe members have come in and without a doubt, multiple infringements have occured and will continue to occur until the bringers of justice step in and halt all misuse.
You've been warned.
Nothing proves that man is who rules the Earth like taking animals that are 130 years old, killing them, and then hacking them up with a chainsaw. Keep showin' them animals who's boss, oh brave hunters.
YOU'RE NEXT, TURTLES
Whales live indefinitely, and their master race 'swims' the universe in large cylinders. Everyone has known this since the historical documents were released in 1986.
Click here or here.
When reached for additional comment the scientists replied "Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em. I'm a whale biologist."
It probably felt just fine. I imagine being cut up by chainsaw recently felt much worse.
Developers: We can use your help.
Every time it would rain, the poor whale can be heard for miles singing the complaining song of old whales. Roughly translated from whale song as he was talking to younger whales, "Aye! My neck is killing me! Years ago, some son of a bitch human shot me right in me neck! Yarrr. It 'urts every time a storm is ah brew'n. Yarrr. Take note young'ns"
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
1) We're better at killing whales than we were 100 years ago. 2) Seafood (i.e. krill) is good for you.
"That a bunch of Yayhoo's killed an animal over a century old?"
Why? Jack Kavorkian use to do the same thing.
I'm alarmed/shocked it took almost a week for this to show up on /.
If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
We all know you eat whale too, we've seen your girlfriend
How did it taste?
Deleted
People have been assholes for a long time!
God doesn't care about animals.
However, the big different between God and animals is that there are animals.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I dunno, I think I can respect someone who hunts and kills a Whale using only a chainsaw. That sounds damn hard...
A bear and a human are locked in a fight to the death, and you happen along with a gun, who do you shoot?
Nobody. The bear doesn't need my help, and shooting it OR the person will just alert it to my presence. I back away slowly and quietly, and go back the way I came. Then I tell local authorities where they can recover the poor bastard's remains.
If fate makes you a motorcycle, you become a motorcycle.
...pigs and turkeys are raised on farms where they don't play a role in the surrounding ecosystem...
Uh, dude? *We* *are* the surrounding ecosystem!
--
phunctor
It's always easier to hunt for chicks - they go to the bathroom in large groups.
I got hit by a 1957 Chevy, therefore I must be at least 50 years old.
word.
When I have a kid, I want to put him in one of those strollers for twins and then run around the mall looking frantic.
HP sauce? You're talking about the fluid that leaks from printer ink cartridges, right? Bad idea- it tastes disgusting. Worse even than sucking a ballpoint pen.
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
I suppose that species can come and go. ... it will happen no matter what we do.
I agree, I bet new species pop up all the time. Heck, just this morning I bet a couple of new species of whales were created! Yeah, it will happen no matter what we do....even though we are the ones doing it. Makes sense.
Lets start a club where we try not to cloud these issues with facts and logic. We can call it the Patriot Freedom Club. We can have cookies, and chocolate milk, and talk about how much global warming is beyond our control. Then we can get in our SUV's and go run over baby tortoises as they scramble for the ocean! Die little bastards, die!
Sorry, long day.
what does an old whale look like anyways
Like this
"I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
My line moves up and down...depending on how hungry I am.
Well it is Slashdot;-) There are two sides to every opinion: the right one and the uninformed, close-minded one.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
See what this damn 8bit limitation does to our ecology! Won't someone think of the Intuit?!
My 2 month old still fits in the microwave easily.
GENERATION 25: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social exper
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
It should be possible to more surely pin down the date of penetration by the spearhead by dating accompanying contamination.
Or sawing the whale in half and counting the rings.