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It is interesting how they manage to hold their breath for so long Large blood capacity for storing oxygen, I think. Whale beef is very red. and yet manage to
by jonsen 13y ago
It is interesting how they manage to hold their breath for so long
Large blood capacity for storing oxygen, I think. Whale beef is very red.
and yet manage to survive the bends (decompression sickness)
Well they don't breathe down there as human divers do. The excess nitrogen pressed into the blood is not more than what the lungs can take out again when rising.
- masklinn 13y ago> Whale beef I'm sure you meant "meat" > is very red. Indeed, it's almost black.
- bch 13y agoWhy not "beef"? They're called cows, bulls and calfs after all.
- masklinn 13y agoBeef is the culinary name of bovine meat[0]. Calling whale meat beef is roughly equivalent to calling cow meat "pork". [0] and afaik culinary names come from the corresponding animal's name in french: beef comes from boeuf (~ox, a castrated bos taurus male), pork from porc, veal is veau, mutton is mouton and venison is venaison (replaced by "gibier" in modern french).
- jonsen 13y agoCalling whale meat beef is roughly equivalent to calling cow meat "pork" Yes. But I didn't. I called whale meat whale beef. That would be more like calling cow meat cow pork.
- bsd999 13y agoWhy is this a discussion?
- gaustin 13y agoPeople found it an interesting topic and started discussing it.
- ctdonath 13y agoWe're a pedantic bunch. I've long noted the tendency of people to eviscerate a casual comment in an online conversation just because it does not extend to encyclopedic thoroughness. Elsewhere I was just upbraided for failing to note that Switzerland was arguably(!) not independent for 0.6% of its 800 year history.
- pessimizer 13y agoYou're right, this conversation is useless. Let's get back to pragmatically discussing how old whales are.
- masklinn 13y agoTechnically correct, the best kind of correct.
- brc 13y agoOK. But does whale meat have a culinary term? Do the Japanese, Norwegians or Icelanders have a term for it, that is not a literal 'whale meat'? While on the topic- why does english have a term for most domestic meats except for 'lamb'. Lamb is lamb, while most other non-game meats have a culinary term.
- PhasmaFelis 13y ago"Chicken" is the same.
- cdcarter 13y agoMutton is an english language term for some to most lamb meats, depending on your area.
- jonsen 13y agoThe Faroe Islanders have it: tvøst (pronounced like tvirst). Norwegians and Danes don't.
- doktrin 13y agoThe word 'beef' entered the English language following the Norman invasion in 1066. It's a word with Latin roots, but came to English via French. Consider the dichotomy between sheep & mutton, or pig & pork. In all instances, the word referring to the animal has "old English", or Anglo Saxon roots. Likewise, the word referring to the meat is Latin via French. This linguistic gap may have its roots in social divisions. In the years following the Norman invasion, the upper class spoke French. They also consumed most of the meat. The conquered, who by and large did a lot of the agricultural work & raised the livestock, spoke Anglo Saxon ("old English"). Regardless of etymology, though, beef doesn't refer to generic 'meat'.
- brianbreslin 13y agohttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/b%C5%93uf http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/b%C5%93uf boeuf is french for beef
- doktrin 13y agoI think we're in agreement. In French, however, boeuf can also refer to the animal.
- pacaro 13y agoWorth noting is the constant weight [1] free-diving record is currently 128m (~420 feet)[2] - the human body is also capable of incredible things. [1] The athlete has to dive to the depth following (but not using) a guide line. The ‘Constant Weight’ refers to the fact that the athlete is not allowed to drop any diving weights during the dive. [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-diving#Depth_disciplines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-diving#Depth_disciplines