Official Off Topic Discussion Thread #1

[jjohnwm]

View attachment 1521260
Two kayakers were nearly swallowed by a humpback whale off the the coast of Avila Beach,California.

Why would a baleen-feeding whale even attempt such a thing? They have relatively tiny throats, and feed upon extremely small items like krill; this looks like a suicidal maneuver for that whale. Can they even open their mouths as far as the pic shows?

And if it did happen...what are the odds that it would happen literally right next to a large-ish boat/ship, which is the only place that this "photo" could be taken from the apparent angle? And what great good fortune that the photographer was able to skillfully capture the moment in good focus and light!

And...why do the two kayakers, only an armswidth apart, seem to be subject to apparently different angles of illumination, and not even similarly focused? It's almost as if they were nowhere near one another when their respective images were captured...and yet there they are, right next to one another in the pic! Has some mysterious entity somehow altered reality, somehow bent and twisted the fabric of space/time, in order to create an image that is not entirely an accurate representation of what actually transpired?

Crazy talk, I know...but...kinda makes me go "Hmmmmm....."

 

[krichardson]

Why would a baleen-feeding whale even attempt such a thing? They have relatively tiny throats, and feed upon extremely small items like krill; this looks like a suicidal maneuver for that whale. Can they even open their mouths as far as the pic shows?

And if it did happen...what are the odds that it would happen literally right next to a large-ish boat/ship, which is the only place that this "photo" could be taken from the apparent angle? And what great good fortune that the photographer was able to skillfully capture the moment in good focus and light!

And...why do the two kayakers, only an armswidth apart, seem to be subject to apparently different angles of illumination, and not even similarly focused? It's almost as if they were nowhere near one another when their respective images were captured...and yet there they are, right next to one another in the pic! Has some mysterious entity somehow altered reality, somehow bent and twisted the fabric of space/time, in order to create an image that is not entirely an accurate representation of what actually transpired?

Crazy talk, I know...but...kinda makes me go "Hmmmmm....."

LOL well since you've pointed all that out...gotta love the internet news tidbits that pop up on my feed.

 

[esoxlucius]

There's no real reason to believe that the picture has been tampered with. Near misses, whilst these whales are concentrating on a huge bait ball are not that rare.

I've seen documentaries on how the whales work as a team. They surround the bait balls and keep them hugged closely together by means of circular bubble curtains. Then other whales come from below, mouths gaping, up through the curtains, and gulp in huge amounts of bait fish.

Quoting the famous Jaws line, in regards to the kayakers......"you're gonna need a bigger boat." Lol.

 

[jjohnwm]

There's no real reason to believe that the picture has been tampered with. Near misses, whilst these whales are concentrating on a huge bait ball are not that rare.

I've seen documentaries on how the whales work as a team. They surround the bait balls and keep them hugged closely together by means of circular bubble curtains. Then other whales come from below, mouths gaping, up through the curtains, and gulp in huge amounts of bait fish.

Quoting the famous Jaws line, in regards to the kayakers......"you're gonna need a bigger boat." Lol.

Esox, take a close look at the images of those two kayakers. Everything about them screams that they were not taken at the same time, at the same distance, or in the same location, possibly not even by the same photographer.

I get that this accidental kayak-grabbing occasionally occurs, although I don't think it ever happened to either of the two guys in that carefully- but poorly-photoshopped pic. And when it does happen...well, "nearly swallowed" is just silly.

If you have been accidentally scooped into the mouth of a whale...you are not having a good day, and there's a good chance of injury or death...but there's already enough real danger and drama, no need for the ridiculous exaggeration of "nearly swallowed".

 

[esoxlucius]

Everything about them screams that they were not taken at the same time, at the same distance, or in the same location, possibly not even by the same photographer.

Re reading my post it does look like I'm agreeing with what's in that actual image. I was more referring to the actual concept of what's in the pic, ie, whales feeding on surface bait fish almost taking swimmers or kayakers in their mouths.

The biggest problem I have with that picture is the huge swell in the background, indicating it's rather choppy. All the documentaries I've ever seen have shown the whales breaking the surface in flat calm waters.

But yes, as you mention, there are a few other anomalies too.

 

[Ogertron3000]

Now Jonah he lives in a whale
Yeah Jonah he lived in a whale
He made his home in
That fishes abdomen
Jonah he lives in a whale

from an old song called “It ain’t necessarily so” by Normie Rowe
You guys should check it out if you don’t know it for a bit of 60s pop

 

[esoxlucius]

Now Jonah he lives in a whale
Yeah Jonah he lived in a whale
He made his home in
That fishes abdomen
Jonah he lives in a whale

from an old song called “It ain’t necessarily so” by Normie Rowe
You guys should check it out if you don’t know it for a bit of 60s pop

I think this version of it from the 80's by Bronski Best is better...

 

[krichardson]

Some wise ass put this on my supervisor's vehicle bumper.

 

[esoxlucius]

Some wise ass put this on my supervisor's vehicle bumper.
View attachment 1521467

The "maybe" part makes this whole accusation a little inconclusive. For clarity Krich can you ask your supervisor if he was actually jerking off, and report back with your findings? Lol.

 

[krichardson]

The "maybe" part makes this whole accusation a little inconclusive. For clarity Krich can you ask your supervisor if he was actually jerking off, and report back with your findings? Lol.

Well,he does pride himself on being a jerkoff and I'll have to agree that he certainly can be at times!