OCEAN GIANTS

10 Big Facts About Whales That Will Blow Your Mind

Image: Andrew Bain

Whales are among the most majestic creatures to roam the oceans, captivating humans with their immense size, mysterious habits, and intriguing behaviors. From their extraordinary communication skills to their incredible migratory journeys, whales continue to fascinate scientists and nature enthusiasts alike.

Here are 10 captivating facts about these marine giants that will leave you in awe.

Image: Will Turner

Despite their aquatic lifestyle, whales are actually mammals, belonging to the order Cetacea. This means that, just like us, they breathe air, give birth to live young, nurse their offspring with milk, and possess hair (albeit very little of it). And whales are more related to us than you would think. The evolutionary journey that leads from their land-dwelling ancestors to the oceanic behemoths of today is one of the most remarkable stories in the animal kingdom.

Image: Georg Wolf

Blue whales hold the title of being the largest animals that have ever existed on Earth, ever. Take a minute to take this in. This means that they even surpass the size of the largest dinosaurs found. These magnificent creatures can grow up to a staggering 110 feet in length and weigh as much as 200 tons. To support their massive bodies, blue whales consume enormous quantities of krill, small shrimp-like creatures, every day during their feeding season.

Image: Kelly Sikkema

Humpback whales are renowned for their haunting and complex songs, which can last for hours and be heard over great distances. These songs are believed to play a role in mating rituals and communication among individuals. What's particularly fascinating is that humpback whale songs not only evolve over time, with new phrases being added and old ones fading away, but also change according to the region, suggesting a cultural aspect to their communication.

Image: Alex Haney

Sperm whales are the deepest diving mammals on the planet, capable of descending to depths of over 10,000 feet for over an hour. Their ability to dive to such extreme depths is facilitated by their uniquely adapted physiology, including collapsible rib cages and lungs, and the ability to increase the amount of oxygen molecules stored in their muscles, among many other extreme adaptations to the immense pressures of the deep ocean.

Image: Thomas Lipke

Orcas, also known as killer whales, are apex predators that inhabit oceans worldwide, capable of hunting even the dreaded great white shark. Being formidable hunters, they prey on a variety of marine mammals and fish, and can even attack boats if they feel threatened. But while they are extremely fast swimmers and have sharp teeth over 3 inches long, their deadliest weapon, by far, is their complex brain. Orcas are highly intelligent and social animals, and their clever hunting strategies keep them at the top of the food chain.

Image: Steve Snodgrass, CC BY 2.0

Whales can be categorized into two main groups based on their feeding mechanisms: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales, such as humpbacks and blue whales, have baleen plates in their mouths instead of teeth. These are hair-like structures, which they use to filter small prey like krill and plankton from the water. Toothed whales, like sperm whales and orcas, instead have sets of ordinary teeth and use them to feed on larger prey such as fish, squid, and even other marine mammals.

Image: Karl-Heinz Müller

Many whale species undertake epic migratory journeys covering thousands of miles each year. These migrations are driven by factors such as mating, feeding, and seasonal changes in temperature and food availability. For example, gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any mammal, traveling over 10,000 miles annually between their breeding grounds in warm tropical waters and their feeding grounds in cold Arctic seas.

Image: Humberto Braojos

As apex predators and key consumers in marine food webs, whales play crucial roles in maintaining the health and balance of ocean ecosystems. By controlling populations of both prey and predator species, they help prevent overgrazing of marine habitats and promote biodiversity. Additionally, their nutrient-rich feces support the growth of phytoplankton, which both serves as the foundation of marine food chains and contributes to carbon sequestration from the atmosphere.

Image: Gabriel Dizzi

Whales have long been hunted by humans for their meat, blubber, and other resources. During the beginning of the 20th century, many whale species were hunted for their oil-rich blubber, used as fuel for lamps in early industrialized cities. That led to a catastrophic decline in whale populations, with some species pushed to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, since commercial whaling was largely banned in the 1980s, whale populations are showing a steady recovery, though they are still threatened by pollution and the warming of the oceans.

Image: Davide Cantelli

We might not be actively hunting whales as in the past, but we still want to encounter these gentle giants of the ocean. In recent decades, whale watching has emerged as a popular and sustainable form of eco-tourism, providing people with the opportunity to observe these magnificent creatures in their natural habitats while raising awareness (and funds) for marine conservation.

Remember these?

Get nostalgic with these 10 vintage tech items that once ruled

Image: henry perks

From cell phones and laptops to electronic payments and smart TVs, technology is a constant in our daily lives, no matter where we go. But things were different a couple of decades ago. Remember when TVs were huge boxes or when landline phones were the norm? If you want to take a trip back in time to remember these vintage tech items and many others, this article is for you!

Image: Quino Al

If someone asked you to mime taking an imaginary phone call, you'd probably lower the three middle fingers of your hand, leaving just your thumb and pinky extended, and hold that "phone" up to your ear. Are we right?

If so, it means that -just like us- you're still honoring the legacy of the true king of 20th-century communication: the landline telephone. Whether push-button or rotary dial, the home phone was indispensable in those days.

Of course, they're still around, but we have to admit that their reign has been overtaken and surpassed by cell phones.

Image: Ryan Putra

While many modern personal computers come with touchpads, the fact is that many of us still prefer using a separate handheld mouse. Today, most mice are optical or laser-based, but they have an iconic predecessor.

Although it wasn't the first computer mouse, the ball mouse -also known as the mechanical mouse- is well remembered. We are talking about that mouse that had a little ball inside, which rotated on the surface of the table or desk to make the cursor move on the screen.

Many of us have memories of disassembling our mice to remove the ball and clean it manually. Do you remember doing that?

Image: Stephen Holdaway

Most of us have a TV in the living room today, and it wasn't much different in the '70s. In those years, if you had a TV, you probably also had a VHS player (and maybe you're one of the lucky ones who still has one.)

Though it's a far cry from Netflix, the iconic Video Home System came into our lives to make everything more exciting and fun; everyone wanted one! And, honestly, it was no wonder: recording shows and watching movies anytime you wanted, all from the comfort of your home, was a whole new world of entertainment.

Image: s j

If you're reading this, you've probably held a floppy disk in your hands at least once. Also called "diskettes" -or "floppies," if you were really cool- these little squares were the trendy way to store data back in the '70s. And not only that, they were also one of the first portable storage devices, making them a sensation at the time!

While they are considered vintage items today, their legacy lives on. The iconic floppy disk image is still widely used as the icon for the "save" functions on many of the modern devices we use every day.

Image: eniko kis

While your cell phone camera might be hard to beat in terms of definition and quality, there's still something special about holding a physical photo in your hands, right?

And when it comes to physical photos, the iconic Polaroid camera is hard to forget. Not only is it a treasure in terms of design, but it's also older than you might think. In fact, the first model, the Polaroid Model 95, was launched in 1948! The Polaroid Model 95 was the first commercially successful instant camera, which allowed people to get a photo just minutes after taking it without the need to go to a photo processing center. Imagine such a change!

Although it suffered a decline during the rise of the digital era, its popularity resurfaced in recent years with much more modern designs, features, and functions.

Image: Senad Palic

If gaming is your thing, you were probably expecting the iconic Atari 2600 to appear on this list.

One of the first and most iconic video game consoles, the Atari 2600 emerged in 1977, bringing our favorite games into our living rooms. Classics like "Pong," "Space Invaders," and "Pac-Man" were just a few of the memorable games you could enjoy.

Although discontinued in 1992, the Atari 2600 played an important role in the development of other popular consoles and was a pioneer in the world of home entertainment. If you were one of the lucky ones who owned one, you probably remember it fondly!

Image: Florian Schmetz

The Walkman is undoubtedly one of the devices that came to change everything.

Launched by Sony in 1979, the Walkman was one of the first portable music players. Suddenly, people could enjoy their favorite music anytime, anywhere, whether shopping, running, or taking a walk. It was barely bigger than a cassette and came with a pair of innovative headphones.

Everything about it was cool: design, size, and functions. Even today, it's one of the best-remembered vintage tech items. Did you and your friends have Walkmans?

Image: Jason Leung

A few decades ago, TV tables were placed much further from the wall. It wasn't a matter of trend; it was because there was no other option.

From the mid-20th century until the early 21st century, TVs and many computer monitors used CRT technology. Box TVs were the norm back then, but bringing one home could be a challenge, especially because of their weight!

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, box TVs were replaced by flat screens and LCD TVs, but no one can deny that the classic TV provided us with decades of fun and entertainment.

Image: Ant Rozetsky

Nowadays, it’s pretty uncommon to meet someone without a cell phone. We use them for almost everything, carrying them everywhere. But before cell phones, there were beepers.

The beeper -as it was called because of the sound it made- was formally known as a Pager and was the first commercially successful mobile device for sending and receiving text messages. While this might not seem surprising today, it was unbelievable at the time.

Early versions of devices similar to the beeper existed already in the 1950s, but it was during the 1980s that they gained popularity, becoming tech icons.

Image: Dominik Lange

Next up is a tech item that might not have been as popular as some of the others on our list. Before cell phones, there was a groundbreaking way to make calls on the go: car phones.

Although they were often seen as luxury items, many people ended up having them installed in their vehicles. And that installation was far from easy. Car phones were large and heavy and required a power source and an external antenna for signal reception.

Maybe their time in the spotlight was brief, but we can't deny that they were an important step toward modern mobile telecommunications.