ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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Whales have some interesting body parts that help them survive in the ocean.

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Um…that is interesting, but uh…no. [A foot stuck to the top of a whale]

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What body parts are we talking about?

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Well, all whales have a blowhole, flukes, and flippers, just to name a few. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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A whale’s blowhole is like a nostril—except instead of being inside a nose, it’s on

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top of their head. [Mans nose slides to the top of his head]

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Makes it awfully tough to reach with a Kleenex.

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Some whales, like the humpback whale, have two blowholes…which allow the whale to breathe

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a bit more easily. [Thumbs up]

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A blowhole closes when a whale dives into the water and opens when it comes back to [The whale going under the water and the blowhole closes]

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the surface.

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A good thing, too, because otherwise it might inhale a bunch of salt-water, and would probably

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launch into a prolonged coughing fit… [Whale coughing]

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Flukes are the horizontal part of a whale’s tail.

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They have no bones in them and move up and down using powerful muscles connected to a

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whale’s backbone.

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We once bumped into a whale tail we knew in a small club in Paris. [Whale tail behind a drum kit]

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We thought maybe it followed us there…but, turns out it was just a fluke…

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All right, let’s flipper right past that one…

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Whales actually used to have limbs, like humans do… but over time, these limbs evolved into

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flippers.

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Flippers help a whale steer their body in the right direction.

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Like…toward a Carl’s Jr. when it’s feeling snacky. [Whale going to an underwater Carl's Jr.]

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Did you know that whales have no ears? [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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They also have no sweat glands.

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Which comes in real handy anytime they’re at a Broadway musical audition. [Whale wearing a wig]

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All whales have a thick layer of fat under their skin, called blubber.

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The blubber can store energy, as well as keep a whale warm in cold waters.

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Whales used to be hunted for their blubber—it was used to make oil for lamps. [Picture of whale hunting]

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But in today’s lamps…it really just makes a mess.

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So most whales are big fans of modern technology… [Whale giving the thumbs up to a modern lamp]

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