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by HungryGuy on August 5th, 2004

HungryGuy

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If a mad scientist could implant a small animal, such as a mouse, into the lung of a much larger animal, such as a sperm whale, would the smaller animal be able to breathe and survive?

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  • by anonymous on February 9th, 2005

    anonymous

    There have been historical instances that deal with mammals surviving inside sea creatures. Yet, because of the heat, gastric juice, and lack of food, I don’t believe one could establish a naturally reproducing population of mammals inside of a sea creature. Since I have only vague recollections about what I have heard, I went to http://www.grmi.org/renewal/Richard_Riss/evidences/8jonah.html to get specific dates and names. If you are interested, you can read more specifics there.

    --> In 1758, a sailor in the Mediterranean was swallowed and vomited by a fish known as a sea dog.

    --> In 1891, James Bartley was swallowed by a sperm whale. After 48 hours, his whale was harpooned, and he was rescued.

    --> In, 1771, a sperm whale vomited Marshall Jenkins shortly after swallowing him.

    --> Some years ago, I remember hearing about a cow that was barfed up by a whale on the coast of Italy. This incident is not on the site cited.

    Obviously, this question deals in an oddly indirect way with the famous incident of Jonah, so I will address it. First off, just because it is scientifically possible to be swallowed by a whale and vomited after three days does not mean that the incident is not miraculous. What is more, a lack of this type of anecdotal or scientific proof does not disprove any miracle. Einstein proved that miracles do not have to follow scientific laws. Obviously, God provided some creature to swallow him at the right time. What is more, the Book of Jonah is accurate as far as historicity goes. It was never meant to be some sort of fairy tale. The more important message of the Book of Jonah is not that whales can swallow and vomit humans, but that God loves all people, not just Jews.

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  • by bobthebuilder on September 24th, 2004

    bobthebuilder

    No - lungs are actually very moist (i'm assuming you're thinking that their it would have sufficient oxygen), and it would be difficult for the animal to get oxygen. Not to mention food, and the poor big animal it's been put into would have a MASSIVE immune reaction!

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  • by Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog on September 1st, 2005

    Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog

    I doubt it. The lungs are very sensitive to irritation and a living mammal, no matter how small, would irritate the lining of the lungs of the larger animal so that the larger one would cough and cough, trying to expel the irritant. Just think about how it feels when you breathe in something solid, like dust or a small particle of food. Now imagine that the thing you breathed in was alive and moving as well. Yuck!!

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  • by Samuel Prasanna on June 19th, 2006

    Samuel Prasanna

    Whale has lungs or gills ?

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  • by JackNicklaus on December 26th, 2005

    JackNicklaus

    This happens all the time. We get bacteria and viruses growing in us all the time. It doesn't require a "mad scientist." The breathing of the invading organism is another question. Since little available oxygen can be found inside our bodies, it would have to be an anerobic organism that didn't require much oxygen. These organisms do exist. For instance, in your intestines there is a bacteria that exists, that is the cause of the brown color in your feces. I'm not trying to be gross, just pointing out the fact that organisms live inside your body.

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  • by HungryGuy on September 8th, 2005

    HungryGuy

    Actually, I asked this question a while ago because I wanted to write a science fiction story. I wasn't thinking about the Biblical implications at all. You can read the finished story here:

    Moby Jane: http://storiesonline.net/story/39726

    Be warned that the story is sexually explicit, as are most stories on Stories Online.

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