Tech article
A mysterious organ in the sperm whale's head gives it the power to sink ships - bbc.com
Publisher description: A survivor of the shipwreck that inspired the novel Moby Dick had a theory about how a sperm whale could destroy a vessel many times its size – 200 years later, he's been proved right.
NewsAPI | Sep 26, 2026 | Anna Bressanin
Automated excerpt
If it sounds like a novel, it's because the shipwreck of the Essex inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Today, 175 years after publication of the book, research has revealed how a sperm whale can take down a ship several times its size. But whales would routinely attack the smaller, open boats that were lowered overboard from the main ship when a whale was spotted. "The logbooks don't often do justice to the drama of this," says Harrison.
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