Whale oil itself may not be in high demand for lighting but the hunting of whales is still ongoing as they provide resources that are still deemed financially valuable
@@megalosaurusstudios2 Absolutely. And fuck those who still buy products made from whale by-products. Because, we know, if there was no demand, there'd be no supply.
@@tofan2622 that was a rumor that started in the 1990s that the media has run with. In response Nasa historians conducted a huge internal search and could find no proof that whale oil was ever used
I came to UA-cam looking for a how oil is produced from a whale’s blubber, expecting some animation from those cool channels, but what I found is this gem of the most wonderful and accessible explanation by this amazing human. Thank you sir, this is gold 👌
Reading Moby Dick at 53 years old! I was supposed to read it in High School but I was too busy being a nutty adolescent. I appreciate the book more now anyway. I've learned a lot about whaling and whales by reading this book and I find myself continually researching whales and whaling along the way.
Most people don't know that sperm whales were federally protected only in 1972 and it was essential to proper operation of the automatic transmission in your car. It became necessary to find a substitute and Jojoba oil was found to be suitable. Prior to this changeover, Mobil Oil was selling as much as 50 million gallons of sperm whale oil per year.
This was very informative and extremely helpful for getting the facts right for running a roleplay game to people. Reading a description of these items is somewhat helpful but seeing it on the camera is way better by orders of magnitude.
Humans are a crack up. 25 of us die every year from shark attacks and we are terrified of the ocean. Meanwhile we almost caused the extinction of all whales just to make a buck and light our streets. 🤦♂️
Please document this and have it displayed in a museum. This is of magnificent historical significance. I would love to have my own collection and run my own test on these. But due to modern conceptions, over whaling and endangerment and moral differences as well as global trade bans I doubt ill be able to do such. But for Someone to closely observe and document the use of these in context to era would paint an amazing historical reference.
It occurs to me that since whale oil lamps were such a common form of lighting in the past, the smell of burning whale oil must have also been very common. Im very curious to know what it smells like when you burn it. Does it smell like cooking bacon? Does it have a fishy smell? Does it have a rancid burning-corpse kind of smell?
Very interesting, thank you for the explanation. Whale oil features prominently in the Dishonoured video games as a fuel source for the in-game steampunk technology.
I’m a college graduate but this gentleman has taught me a thing or two about the going on’s with whaling and the issues behind needing and or hunting whales. Specifically, the different whales having different viscosity of whale blubber converting to the different “generic” oils was nothing I ever considered thinking of. I recently took on a new hobby of boating with a friend and we saw and caught great photos shots of dolphins. The experience led me to think about whales for some reason which led me to watching old, old footage about whaling and taking apart the carcass which led me here. Never too old (I’m a mature queen) to absorb further knowledge. Not necessarily my style, this video, but most interesting nonetheless. Gratitude for this video.
It's kinda the same with fossil oil, we refine it to take out the carbon compounds that are about 8-10 long but crude form you'd get a mixture of all length compounds up to like 30 C long. Animal oils usually about 6 to 20 carbon, spermacetti prob mainly longer oils as lengthier hydrocarbon compounds tend to solidify faster than short ones like octane, etc. Higher amount of bonds means more energy too so more efficient
ok, so I read this: "Creating fuel from human fat has actually be done before. In 2007, an eco-boat called The Earthrace broke records by circumnavigating the globe in under 61 days. But if that’s not a special feat in and of itself, it did so-in part-powered by human fat. Three members of The Earthrace crew actually underwent liposuction for the challenge; their combined 2.5 gallons of fat produced almost 2 gallons of fuel, which was enough to go 9 miles out of their 27,600-mile journey"
I appreciate this video! It was most informative. I’m reading Moby Dick and wanted to get some further understanding of the stuff for which they put their lives on the line! Great hat by the way! BEAT NAVY!!
It would depend on the lubricity and flash point/flammability of whale oil, because a Diesel engine uses high compression to ignite Diesel fuel while a gas engine uses a spark to ignite gasoline.
>>>> thank you Prof, just received great education today! while trying to gather information about the reinventing of organization from stone, to bronze age, uptill the 4th industrial revolution, I stumbled on this. If fossil oil had not been discovered, the whale would have been history told only on illustrated textbooks by 2025. Why has man become so greedy to the extent of endangering all creation just to extract resources?
Would like to know what is the closes alternative to sperm whale oil is today. A White flame from a candle like that in those days would put out a brighter light and clean burning. Unlike today candles, I understand better now how people back then can do things in the dark nights.
@@14goldmedals Yes just like the western World we enjoy a nice Tbone steak.Yes a warm blooded animal just like Whales think about it before making comments about the Japanese from a EX WHALER from Europe
Read Moby Dick. It will really kindle the desire for adventure as a whaler. If you listen to “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”’ in conjunction with reading Moby Dick you’ll feel a deep compulsion for life on a ship.
What an interesting piece of history. Fascinating how something so valuable back then, is so completely obsolete today
Whale oil itself may not be in high demand for lighting but the hunting of whales is still ongoing as they provide resources that are still deemed financially valuable
@@cocojinx9193 fuck the people who still do it
@@megalosaurusstudios2 Absolutely. And fuck those who still buy products made from whale by-products. Because, we know, if there was no demand, there'd be no supply.
Except that NASA still uses whale oil.
@@tofan2622 that was a rumor that started in the 1990s that the media has run with. In response Nasa historians conducted a huge internal search and could find no proof that whale oil was ever used
I am shocked amazed that this man has so much of this vintage stuff. Thanks for using these artifacts for historical education here on youtube.
Came here after watching Moby Dick (1958) to learn more about the business and I was not disappointed. Thank you so much Professor.
I came to UA-cam looking for a how oil is produced from a whale’s blubber, expecting some animation from those cool channels, but what I found is this gem of the most wonderful and accessible explanation by this amazing human.
Thank you sir, this is gold 👌
Man, from a science teacher -- a very good explanation. In fact, it is the best that I have seen.
Reading Moby Dick at 53 years old! I was supposed to read it in High School but I was too busy being a nutty adolescent. I appreciate the book more now anyway. I've learned a lot about whaling and whales by reading this book and I find myself continually researching whales and whaling along the way.
Hahahah. Me too!!!! I’m 72!
Definitely the most informative whale oil video I've seen yet. Fascinating to learn about the history of tribology.
Most people don't know that sperm whales were federally protected only in 1972 and it was essential to proper operation of the automatic transmission in your car. It became necessary to find a substitute and Jojoba oil was found to be suitable. Prior to this changeover, Mobil Oil was selling as much as 50 million gallons of sperm whale oil per year.
Sitting here at 1:56 AM, listening to an old man talk about the different properties of whale oil... Gotta love UA-cam lol
Thank you for this video! I'm reading Seabird by Holling C Holling with my kids right now in a homeschool co-op and this is great additional material.
Make a comeback prof please we need to hear about more interesting things
Beautiful done. You have an amazing speaking voice and very knowledgeable.
This was very informative and extremely helpful for getting the facts right for running a roleplay game to people. Reading a description of these items is somewhat helpful but seeing it on the camera is way better by orders of magnitude.
Thank you. Very informative and very interesting..
I’m writing a story loosely around whaling culture and this video really was a valuable gem to me. Thank you!
Amazing. Just what I wanted to see and know, with none of the usual preamble. Thanks
Appreciate this. I'm re-reading Moby Dick (of course) and wanted to learn more - and this was perfect
Ey, similar circumstances here!
I was watching In the heart of the sea
Humans are a crack up. 25 of us die every year from shark attacks and we are terrified of the ocean. Meanwhile we almost caused the extinction of all whales just to make a buck and light our streets. 🤦♂️
Please document this and have it displayed in a museum. This is of magnificent historical significance. I would love to have my own collection and run my own test on these. But due to modern conceptions, over whaling and endangerment and moral differences as well as global trade bans I doubt ill be able to do such. But for Someone to closely observe and document the use of these in context to era would paint an amazing historical reference.
Thank you very much sir
I'm from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
And best of luck to you sir!
Fascinating lecture. Thank you!
It occurs to me that since whale oil lamps were such a common form of lighting in the past, the smell of burning whale oil must have also been very common.
Im very curious to know what it smells like when you burn it. Does it smell like cooking bacon? Does it have a fishy smell? Does it have a rancid burning-corpse kind of smell?
According to wikipedia it is devoid of taste and smell which was one of the big reasons it was so widely used
Is that a pride hammer and sickle?🤣🤣🤣 You must be king of the morons
@@ArthurWahoowa as long as you're not a communist🤣👍
It was popular because it made no smoke and had no odor, and produced good light.
"Rancid burning corpse smell"? Like AOC mid-cycle, maybe?
Very interesting, thank you for the explanation. Whale oil features prominently in the Dishonoured video games as a fuel source for the in-game steampunk technology.
This is what peaked my interest 😂
Fascinating! Thank you for this precious bit of lesser known history. That cake is priceless!
A great presentation. Thanks for sharing your knowledge☺️
Thanks for this masterful class
Thank you Sir. This is priceless information.
That's amazing it's almost like our modern synthetic like 0W16 oil that they're putting out now
Wow. Fascinating. What i've been looking for exactly. Thanks!!!
Absolutely amazing...thanks for sharing sir
Very interesting thank you for the video
Informative sir. Thank you
I’m a college graduate but this gentleman has taught me a thing or two about the going on’s with whaling and the issues behind needing and or hunting whales. Specifically, the different whales having different viscosity of whale blubber converting to the different “generic” oils was nothing I ever considered thinking of. I recently took on a new hobby of boating with a friend and we saw and caught great photos shots of dolphins. The experience led me to think about whales for some reason which led me to watching old, old footage about whaling and taking apart the carcass which led me here. Never too old (I’m a mature queen) to absorb further knowledge. Not necessarily my style, this video, but most interesting nonetheless. Gratitude for this video.
It's kinda the same with fossil oil, we refine it to take out the carbon compounds that are about 8-10 long but crude form you'd get a mixture of all length compounds up to like 30 C long. Animal oils usually about 6 to 20 carbon, spermacetti prob mainly longer oils as lengthier hydrocarbon compounds tend to solidify faster than short ones like octane, etc. Higher amount of bonds means more energy too so more efficient
@@lachlank.8270 : Fascinating information.
Very interesting 👌 didn't know about it.Thank you for the explanation 👍
Man this guy is so sharp for an older dude I could listen to him talk for a long time 😂👌
Fascinating and rare knowledge. Thank you for the video.
Thank you sir, taking us inside Making of 19th century Waxes.
amazing, thanks for the history lesson
Sweet video. Learned some cool stuff
What a wonderful human being.
Good history. thank you.
Thank you yt algorithm. This was really interesting.
I enjoyed this, thank you.
Who's here after watching "In the heart of the sea"
Mee
Me
Watched it in theaters. Just thinking about it again
Me
Mee
Very interesting! Thanks for the post!
That was amazing! Thank you so much for your knowledge. I have never seen sperm whale oil or -wax before!
Thank you very much for this. Having just finished Moby-Dick, I was pleased to find this video. Thank you for the explanation!
Interesting. I alwayswondering the why and what about whaule oil.
Thanks a lot!
Do you collect ambergris at all? I've heard that is very expensive for perfumes.
Is that wax the same thing as ambergris?
So interesting!
Very interesting
Fascinating
Good info
when you going to make some more videos?
why did you cut out the part where he used that oil to fry up some french frys?
GM use to use it as transmission oil.
We used in mechanism for spinning satellite’s. Great stuff….
Most interesting, thank you for making this.
Anyone get to know Jack Taffer from Boston?
I’d like to have one more of his books. RIP Jack.
RIP professor.
So that bottle is basically ghee.
Not from butter but blubber..?
Heh... I'm reading Moby Dick for the first time and went looking. This was very interesting. Thanks!
This video is history!
Great informative video. Thank you sir
this is very cool,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge sir!
New Bedford MA✊
I’m 28 and I daily drive a 1939 LaSalle and I’m glad I’m not the only one that appreciates history on a daily basis.
Was whale oil safe to eat since it was made out of melted whale fat?
Have you tasted it?
This might be a stupid question but I have to ask: Сould you make oil out of any fat, like also human fat and then burn it in a lamp too?
ok, so I read this: "Creating fuel from human fat has actually be done before.
In 2007, an eco-boat called The Earthrace broke records by circumnavigating the globe in under 61 days. But if that’s not a special feat in and of itself, it did so-in part-powered by human fat. Three members of The Earthrace crew actually underwent liposuction for the challenge; their combined 2.5 gallons of fat produced almost 2 gallons of fuel, which was enough to go 9 miles out of their 27,600-mile journey"
I appreciate this video! It was most informative. I’m reading Moby Dick and wanted to get some further understanding of the stuff for which they put their lives on the line! Great hat by the way! BEAT NAVY!!
Thx
McDonald’s in Alaska still cooks their French fries in whale oil 🐳🍟
Should we gather for whiskey and cigars tonight
Indeed, I believe so.
Never Daud it.
Thanks for the information
I just jizzed in my last box of matches to make sure I’d get the fire going. But now they won’t light
poor whales . Thank you professor
Sir, how does one get in touch with you? I don’t see your email address.
Can you run a diesel? truck off whale oil.
It would depend on the lubricity and flash point/flammability of whale oil, because a Diesel engine uses high compression to ignite Diesel fuel while a gas engine uses a spark to ignite gasoline.
Camphine was much cheaper and kerosine only replaced both whale Oil and camphine after the Civil War
This is youtube gold
Fr
Between 1900 and 1999, approximately 2.9 million whales were killed.
Check that figure with the IWC ( international Whaling Commission ) ????????
Playing Victoria 3 brought me here.
Dudes cool, not like a lot of old folks “I worked in a factory respect me I’m old” this guy is prolly a professor or engineer
>>>> thank you Prof, just received great education today! while trying to gather information about the reinventing of organization from stone, to bronze age, uptill the 4th industrial revolution, I stumbled on this. If fossil oil had not been discovered, the whale would have been history told only on illustrated textbooks by 2025. Why has man become so greedy to the extent of endangering all creation just to extract resources?
Who’s here after harpooning their first blue whale
Would like to know what is the closes alternative to sperm whale oil is today. A White flame from a candle like that in those days would put out a brighter light and clean burning. Unlike today candles, I understand better now how people back then can do things in the dark nights.
Jojoba oil
@@renpixie Too bad the Jojoba oil didn't catch on sooner.
Kerosene replaced whale oil for lightning and heating, then electricity and light bulbs replaced kerosene.
@@murdoch6390
Kerosene is still used all over the UK for central heating, we call it "boiler juice" at the moment 9/21 its about 40p a litre
thank you sir,for this lesson of history.. i know about these thing from books only . i would love to touch and feel that wax cake
cool
how sad that we almost hunted to extinction these beautiful creatures!!!
The Japanese still eat whales and all types of dolphins and porpoises with reckless abandon.
@@14goldmedals Yes just like the western World we enjoy a nice Tbone steak.Yes a warm blooded animal just like Whales think about it before making comments about the Japanese from a EX WHALER from Europe
Dishonored brought me here.
I HATE WHALE OIL
Amazing
thnk u
0:25 did he camera man laugh or sneeze ?
It looks like Cheese
I feel like being a whaler now to learn about all of it.
Read Moby Dick. It will really kindle the desire for adventure as a whaler. If you listen to “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”’ in conjunction with reading Moby Dick you’ll feel a deep compulsion for life on a ship.
@@overthinker1554 Thanks, I'll look into it.
Whaling was and still is a horrible job.