Sperm whaling is the human practice of hunting sperm whales, the largest toothed whale, for the oil, meat and bone that can be extracted from the cetaceans' bodies. Sperm whales are prized for the sperm oil, a waxy secretion that was especially popular as a lubricant and illuminant during the Industrial Revolution, and so they were heavily targeted in 19th-century commercial whaling, as exemplified in Moby Dick.
Sperm whaling is the human practice of hunting sperm whales, the largest toothed whale, for the oil, meat and bone that can be extracted from the cetaceans' bodies. Sperm whales are prized for the sperm oil, a waxy secretion that was especially popular as a lubricant and illuminant during the Industrial Revolution, and so they were heavily targeted in 19th-century commercial whaling, as exemplified in Moby Dick.
Source: Wikipedia "Sperm whaling" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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