Whale oil
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Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. It was at one point an important fuel for illumination, as well as machine lubrication and other uses. Despite the increased availability of petro
Whalers boiling blubber on the deck of their ship (1874 illustration)
United States whale oil and sperm oil imports in the 19th century
A bottle of whale oil
Whalers stripping blubber from a whale
Whale
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Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. al
Basilosaurus skeleton
Skeleton of a bowhead whale; notice the vestigial pelvis. Richard Lydekker, 1894
Sperm whale skeleton. Richard Lydekker, 1894.