Chapter 79 74．Sperm Whale Head Fact Sheet

In fact, whales can be regarded as the largest marine animals. Of all the species of whales, perhaps the most famous are the sperm whale and the right whale. These are the two kinds that people generally hunt. Although these two kinds of whales are a large population, they are very different in appearance, temperament, and value. It should be said that one is the nobleman among the cetaceans and the other is the poor among the cetaceans. This may be the most appropriate metaphor. Let us be scholars who specialize in the study of whales, and compare these two kinds of whales carefully. Let's start with their heads first.

Stepping over the deck of the Pequod, we came to the stern. I saw the head of a great right whale dragging on the port side and the head of a great sperm whale dragging on the starboard side, like a balance. At a cursory glance, you can see how different these two large whale heads are. Although they are both large, there is definitely a very obvious difference. The head of the sperm whale is majestic, luxurious and beautiful, with aristocratic temperament, especially the older ones, which are highly respected. The head of the right whale is much inferior in comparison. It is not impressive, it is even ugly, without a trace of nobility, just sloppy and stupid. No wonder whalers call it "a wimp". .This is very reasonable and can be said to be worthy of the name.

Just like the same thing, such as porcelain, well-made can become a handicraft, decoration or even a collection, but what about poorly-made ones?It can only be used to make do with it, and it is basically of no value. Let us look for its eyes in this vast head. You searched for a long time, and finally found it at the extreme back of the whale's head, on the left and right sides near the corners of the mouth. How could this be the eye of a whale?You are very strange. The eyes were so small, about the size of a foal's, without a single eyelash, that they did not match the size of the whale.

We humans, like most mammals, have eyes symmetrically on the forehead. The reason for such a long method is that the scenes we see can be unified and synthesized into the same visual effect without errors in our minds. The eyes of big whales are different, they grow in places equivalent to our human ears. Try to think about what it would be like to see things with your ears. Because the viewing angle of the eyes is only 30 degrees, the eyes at the ears can only see a small area on both sides. And most importantly, the scenes seen by the two eyes are two absolutely different pictures, one is on its left side, and the other is on its right side.

Because these two pictures are different, it is impossible for whales to combine them like we do. In this way, the whale will have two completely different pictures in his mind. The reason why this happens is all due to its huge head, which stands like a big mountain in the middle, and the eyes are like two huts at the foot of the mountain on both sides of the mountain. The difference from humans is not only that whales can see two images, but also that they can't see what is directly in front of them at all. When you walk up to it with a dagger in your hand and stab it, it will never see you, so this may also be a proof of the invulnerability of the whale's frontal part.

Human eyes can only focus on one thing, and it is impossible to focus on two things at the same time, but whales can do it. But for the whale, troubles come, it does not have such a high intelligence to quickly and organically combine the opposite sides of the scene to achieve a complete and unified visual effect. Therefore, when we are besieged by many of our small boats, we will see that the big whale is extraordinarily clumsy and hesitant, thinking of this for a while, and thinking of that for a while. Now it seems that it is mostly caused by its unlucky vision. After talking about the whale's eyes, let's talk about the whale's ears.

If you don't know anything about whales before, chances are you won't find its ears on its expansive skull. The whale's ear also surprises you. It has only a small hole, and there is no part that grows outside like ours. You may say, are these ears?Usually what we call ears actually refers to the part that we can grab with our hands. But these are the ears of whales. A whale's ear not only has no outer part, but is also so small that even a quill pen for writing cannot be inserted into the small round hole called an ear. I almost forgot to tell you that the ears of whales actually grow a little behind the eyes.

If possible, we can make a bold vision. We held a lantern and walked into the mouth of the giant whale. Of course, we have cut off the head and body of the big whale now, otherwise, we can go all the way to its belly like a stalactite cave. The first scene is the whale's teeth, which are so white and ivory-like. There are forty-two teeth in total, arranged in two neat rows, like the entrance to the gate of hell, which makes people tremble. You know, if this row of swords opens and closes a few times as you walk into its mouth, you'll be turned into meat sauce in no time. I don't know how many whalers have done ghosts under this row of swords and guns.

If you want to pull these teeth out, you also need to use a pulley; and it is often as difficult as pulling out a tree. These teeth can make very beautiful handicrafts. After looking at the teeth, we looked up and looked around the entire hall-like mouth, and found that it was so beautiful and luxurious, from the floor to the ceiling, it was covered by a white film, like a layer of satin, shining everywhere With a white luster. Walking out of its mouth tremblingly, we saw the wonderful baleen again. This thing can be used to make walking sticks, whip handles, etc., all of which are rare and rare treasures.