Ahoy! Let’s Think! Today we answer the question What If A Whale Swallows You?!

Have you ever watched the movie Pinnochio and came upon the scene where he gets swallowed up by a whale? Even though it's a cartoon, did you ever wonder if it was possible? Although whales are very large creatures and dozens, even hundreds of humans can easily fit into their mouths, it’s very unlikely you would be swallowed by a whale as they are anatomically unable to do so. Most whales do not have teeth that would be able to break down large items into pieces small enough to swallow and digest. Some whales also have esophaguses that are only a few centimeters wide that a human would be unable to pass though. If you happen to find yourself in the mouth of a whale, they will most likely spit you out due to your large size.

There is an exception to this, which is the sperm whale, that does have teeth and a large enough esophagus that can eat large fish, squid and octopus. So what happens if you get swallowed by a sperm whale. Similar to a human, you would be digested in almost the same way. A sperm whale has about 4050 teeth that are as sharp as kitchen knives and can break down large pieces of food but they can also swallow a squid whole. You’ll pass through the esophagus which can cause you to become lightheaded or pass out as there is very little air and has a high methane count. Similar to humans who have saliva to help break down food and push it down the throat, sperm whales also use their muscles and hydrochloric acid to dissolve food.

You’ll then end up in one of the four stomachs that a whale has and then get passed through its other stomachs where more acid breaks down the food. As with all things, what goes in must come out and you’ll be digested and expelled through the whale's body. Although this may be scary, do not worry too much as whales really have no interest in eating humans.

So that answers the question, What If A Whale Swallows You?. That took some thinking!

#Whales #WhatIf #SwallowedbyaWhale

Swallowed by a Whale!



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