"Also known as sperm whales..."

[The_Magician]

I was at the bathroom just a few minutes ago, and took the MM 3e with me, so I could have a pleasant reading. I opened the book on page 204 and laid my eyes on the Cachalot whale... i couldnt believe what I was reading. The first piece of information about the Cachalot whale reads: "Also known as sperm whales..."

Why did they put that in the book? Do we need to know Cachalot whales are known as sperm whales? From all the informations they could give us about the whale that could help us understand it, that could help us use it in our adventures... why sperm whales?

 

[Mouseferatu]

Uh... Because that's how most people know them. Choose a random sampling of, oh, 100 people off the street. As 50 of them if they've heard of a "cachalot whale," and ask the other 50 if they've heard of a "sperm whale." I guarantee you you'll get a lot more positive responses in the latter group than the former.

 

[The_Magician]

Really? Well, I guess it is a cultural thing. I am from brazil and we only know cachalot whales as Cachalote. I cant imagine myself DMing a game and telling my players they see a sperm whale approaching their ship.

 

[NewJeffCTHome]

Really? Well, I guess it is a cultural thing. I am from brazil and we only know cachalot whales as Cachalote. I cant imagine myself DMing a game and telling my players they see a sperm whale approaching their ship.

Mouse above is correct. Here is the US, I'm guessing that 80-90% of Americans would know of it as the sperm whale. I consider myself fairly well read, and I'd honestly never heard of Cachalot whales before.

 

[ElvishBard]

Mouse above is correct. Here is the US, I'm guessing that 80-90% of Americans would know of it as the sperm whale. I consider myself fairly well read, and I'd honestly never heard of Cachalot whales before.

I agree. I consider myself not well read and I never have heard of Cachalot whales, unless someone said they were going to catch a lot of whales, but that doesn't really count .

 

[shilsen]

I cant imagine myself DMing a game and telling my players they see a sperm whale approaching their ship.

Why not? The ship's full of seamen, right?

 

[The_Magician]

Lol

 

[Rystil Arden]

Why not? The ship's full of seamen, right?

That's like that joke where a male whale convinces a female whale to help him wreck the whaling ship that killed his father by blowing at it with concentrated air, but then when the men start escaping, he says they have to eat them to get revenge and she replies, "Dude, I agreed to the blow job but I'm not swallowing seamen."

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I suspect that most Americans from the United States are familiar with the sperm whale because of whaling, and Moby Dick oi particular... (and leave out the Able Seaman jokes...)

The Auld Grump, And it's cheer up me lads, let your hearts never fail,
For that doughty ship the Dolphin goes a fishin' for the whale...

*EDIT* Etymology of Sperm Whale:sperm whale - 1830, shortening of spermaceti whale (so called because the waxy substance in its head was mistaken for sperm), from spermaceti (1471), from M.L. sperma ceti "sperm of a whale," from L. sperma (see sperm) + cetus "large sea animal" (see Cetacea). The substance in olden times was credited with medicinal properties, as well as being used for candle oil.

"Use ... Sperma Cete ana with redd Wyne when ye wax old." [Sir George Ripley, "The Compound of Alchemy," 1471]

 

[mythusmage]

In later times the substance was processed into wax and used for candles. Had the advantage of being cheaper than beeswax with a brighter, steadier flame than tallow. Supplanted by paraffin when that oil byproduct became available.