Feb 25 2008
Whale Balls and Schwanzes: Newfound Friends
One of the great things about traveling is the people you meet. We have a great group with us on the Patagonia trip. We have lots of time during meals and bus rides to get to know each other. Because we’re on a trip half way around the world, it’s a safe bet that we will be with people that share a love of traveling. This group is unbelievable, though. I thought that Dave and I were pretty well traveled, but once I started talking to the people on this trip, I started feeling inadequate. Probably not unlike a guy who compares himself to another guy who was better endowed. Not that I would know what that would feel like. But it brings up an interesting story.
The company we’re traveling with sent us a little book full of information to help us prepare for our trip. Packing lists, helpful tips about currency and weather, etc. It also had a section on the wildlife that is endemic to the areas we’re visiting. The area we’re in now (Peninsula Valdes) has a lot of Southern Right Whales that migrate here for breeding from August through December. This little book we received has information on the Southern Right Whales’ geographic range, feeding habits, behavior, etc. I was reading this section during the flight down to Buenos Aires. After a very dry and pseudo-scientific description of the whale’s dermis and fat content, I read the following sentence:
“One interesting fact about this species is that the male right whales have the largest testes in the animal kingdom. Each pair weighs about 1 ton, the same weight as a newborn right whale.”
Okay, now seriously. That is what it said. And in fact, I *did* find it to be an interesting fact. And as I mentioned earlier, I’m not a guy, so I don’t really know what this would feel like, but I ask the men reading this blog posting how you would feel if you were walking around with 1 ton testes. Or, let’s even try the relative size thing – how would you feel walking around with 8 or 9 pound testes (the weight of a newborn baby)?
What does this have to do with our newfound friends on our Patagonia trip? Well, I was able to assess by day two that the people on this trip, in addition to being well traveled, have a great sense of humor. So I asked one of the guys at dinner on Saturday whether he had read the pre-trip briefing book. Perfect dinner conversation, obviously. Whale balls are *really* funny after a couple glasses of Argentinian red wine. And I learned a new word from our newfound friends: schwanz. Look it up. It’s yiddish.
9 responses so far
An 8lb testicle?!?!?! I don’t know. That extra pound would probably be a real hassle.
I’ve been accused of having big balls, but I think that was a comment on my attitude and nothing to do with the size of my jewels
Sounds as if Meredith is having a great time and learning a lot. What about you, Dave?
Now you know why they swim all the time.
It sounds like you’re having an excellent time!
I thought I’d point out – it would probably be easier to carry around those particular 8-9 pounds if you had the benefit of the support of water (sort of the like the water aerobics concept for grannies)….still, I bet it makes the other whales feel inadequate.
Have a great time! I’m enjoying the posts!
Kristin
I am both amused and sad that this post has so many responses, but the armadillo isn’t getting any love!
This same phenomena came up in an anthropology class while discussing some differences in primates. The evo pressure is called sperm competition and lead to large ones in the promiscuous chimpanzees (more sperm = more offspring) and small ones in the monogamous gorillas. Isn’t nature wonderful. Can’t wait for the next installment.
Hope all is well in your travels.
Dad
That is really funny – Meredith’ new yiddish word is exactly what is used in a very colloquial way in German. You may want to keep in mind when travelling to this part of the world.
Really good fun to read about your travel
Petra
[…] in Pompeii, as well as the fresco found in the entryway of a villa showing a man weighing his schwanz on one side of a balance (there’s a money bag on the other side of the scale). For those of […]