The Story of the Whale Egg

Some years ago, I met a naive, buxom blonde at a cocktail party.  The asked me how whales reproduce.

I told her with a straight face that whales came from eggs laid in the bottom of the ocean.  She swallowed my story.

I decided that my story was too good to waste.  I constructed a believable whale egg in my shop.  It was about three feet diameter by four feet long.  It looked like any regular egg. but larger, since it would have been laid by a whale.

I placed the whale egg on display in Blackie's Bar with a pseudoscientific verification that it was an authentic item.  I thought that few people would believe the story, but I was wrong.  Some doctors, lawyers, professors and teachers believed the whale egg was real.

Later on, the buxom blonde lady bought the egg at my charity auction and had it shipped to her home in L.A.  It is now on display in her living room.  My whale egg is now part of history.

There's always someone to believe a wild story . . . isn't there?

Letter to Editor published in the Maui News April 15, 2012, and Lahaina News May 17, 2012

Whale Egg (Megaptera Ovum) This rare specimen of a whale egg shell was removed from the bottom of the Kealaikahiki Channel by the U.S. Cetacean Research Society. The embryo died before birth due to lack of attention from its mother. The embryo has been removed from the shell for scientific analysis. Whale eggs can be found in the deep caves in channels between the Hawaiian Islands. Whale eggs have been hunted by sme humans who consider the embryo liver a delicacy. According to International Agreement, whale eggs can be observed by research submarines, but are not to be disturbed unless it is verified that the egg has been abandoned by its mother. The mother of this egg was killed February, 1989, by a trans-Pacific tugboat. The tugboat captain was charged with negligence, piloting under the influence of alcohol, but was later released due to lack of corroborating evidence.

Which is worse - insurance companies or lawyers?

Sign posted by Blackie at Blackie's Bar Lahaina 1981-1995.