Things With Bad Names: The Sperm Whale

The sperm whale? Oh ha ha, real mature everybody. What are we, like twelve? Honestly, this has got to stop. And in case you thought that maybe “sperm,” in this case, had some sort of esoteric, alternate meaning, no, it … Continued

The sperm whale? Oh ha ha, real mature everybody.

What are we, like twelve? Honestly, this has got to stop.

And in case you thought that maybe “sperm,” in this case, had some sort of esoteric, alternate meaning, no, it doesn’t:

The whale was named after the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm.

This is one of the largest, most majestic animals on the planet! It is an animal that people will pay serious money just to get a glimpse of. And it is named after sperm for no good reason.

Unacceptable.

I know that at this point, we’re kind of married to the name. But would people ever be able to accept a “vagina bear”? A “scrotum turtle”? I mean, there’s a monkey with a giant red ass, but do we call it the “ass monkey”?

No we don’t. Because we have a little thing called class.

We can do better, people. Physeter macrocephalus deserves a name that isn’t sperm-related.

Thank you.

8 Comments on “Things With Bad Names: The Sperm Whale”

  1. Pianodan #

    What about the SPAM whale?

    Reply

  2. Elver #

    We will call it The Majestic Jizz Fish.

    Reply

  3. Gab #

    So does this mean we’re all just particles floating around in some giant, cosmic set of fallopian tubes?

    Reply

  4. Shechner #

    Yeah! Stick it to the man! And don’t get me started on ‘Homo erectus.’

    Reply

  5. Peregrin #

    Turtles are called “cooters” in some parts of the country.

    Reply

  6. Stokes #

    > But do we call it the “ass monkey”? No we don’t.

    Speak for yourself, Matt.

    Reply

  7. babybiceps #

    Pot Fish? It’s not a fish, but the Dutch call it a “potvis”.

    Reply

  8. bob #

    Why not simply call it the fail whale?

    Reply

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