For many, Whalefall will unlock a new nightmare.
asserted
Whalefall → unlock → nightmare
The film follows scuba diver Jay (Austin Abrams) as he attempts to retrieve his estranged father’s remains, which have fallen to the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
asserted
which → follow → Ocean
But unluckily for him, he gets caught in a struggle between a giant squid and a sperm whale.
asserted
he → catch → squid
Despite his best efforts to escape, Jay is sucked into the whale’s mouth, swallowed, and sent on a journey through its innards.
asserted
Jay → escape → innards
Based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel of the same name, the film is ultimately a story of survival.
asserted
film → base → survival
Director Brian Duffield insists they made it as scientifically accurate as possible, even consulting whale experts throughout production.
asserted
it → insist → production
It isn’t untouched territory either – a Venezuelan kayaker survived being swept into the mouth of a humpback whale last year.
But what are the actual odds of escaping the belly of the Earth’s largest toothed predator?
asserted
odds → survive → predator
could you even get gulped by one in the first place?
uncertain
you → gulp → place
Macquarie University whale scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta and professor of veterinary anatomy and marine science at The University of Queensland Michael Noad offer some answers.
asserted
Pirotta → offer → answers
Are sperm whales capable of swallowing a fully grown human?
asserted
whales → swallow → human
But the oesophagus can stretch when you swallow something, and if they swallow giant squid whole, they might just be able to swallow a person.
uncertain
they → stretch → person
A big squid is quite a streamlined sort of thing to swallow, though.
asserted
squid → swallow → thing
It seems highly unlikely.
asserted
It → seem → ?
Dr Vanessa Pirotta: Sperm whales don’t munch down on food like we do.
asserted
we → munch → food
But if this guy’s got a scuba tank on, the sperm whale isn’t dumb.
asserted
whale → get → tank
They’re used to eating things that are squishy … the tank would be enough for the whale to be like: “Something’s not quite right here”.
asserted
Something → ’re → things
If swallowed, where exactly would you go once past the mouth?
asserted
you → swallow → mouth
You’d go through the oesophagus.
asserted
You → go → oesophagus
There’s no option, like for us, where you can go to the oesophagus or lungs … because the lungs aren’t connected [to its digestive tract].
asserted
lungs → ’ → tract
It’s one way down and usually, one way out.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
You’d go down to the forestomach – they’ve got a multi-chambered stomach system.
asserted
they → go → system
That has no gastric acid secretion, it just grinds and crushes the food.
asserted
it → have → food
Could you breathe inside the whale without a diving tank?
uncertain
you → breathe → tank
It’s very unlikely there would be any gas of any kind in there …
asserted
It → ’ → kind
It [also] looks like the whale might do a deep dive.
uncertain
whale → look → dive
This would simply kill the diver.
asserted
This → kill → diver
the scuba gear would keep supplying you with air at ever-increasing pressure so you could still breathe, at least up to a point, but the air would be used up faster and faster.
uncertain
air → keep → point
You might only have minutes.
uncertain
You → have → minutes
The effects of the pressure itself wouldn’t be good for you, and then shooting up again in the other direction would probably cause massive barotrauma and the bends, all of which would almost certainly be fatal, even if you weren’t inside a whale.
asserted
you → shoot → whale
MN: The stomach would likely contract tightly around the diver, making it impossible to move.
asserted
it → contract → diver
If you were then pushed into the next stomach, there would be acid, but perhaps not enough to burn your skin immediately.
asserted
you → push → skin
It would certainly badly sting and damage your eyes.
asserted
It → sting → eyes
Things don’t rot in the stomach, especially the forestomach, which is about powerful muscular contraction and grinding things up, not chemical digestion.
asserted
which → rot → things
Even if in the middle stomach, things are digested over hours by the acidic environment.
asserted
things → digest → environment
Semi-digested food then passes into the intestines where more digestion takes place.
asserted
digestion → pass → place
If you get bad-smelling gas, it’s probably further down the intestines rather than in the stomach.
asserted
it → get → stomach
Put crudely, farts smell worse than burps.
asserted
farts → put → burps
Could you escape through the blowhole?
uncertain
you → escape → blowhole
It’s anatomically impossible.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
There’s no way you could get out.
uncertain
you → ’ → ?
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
