posted
Comment: OK, a friend of mine, also a Snopes fan, says in all earnestness that the barstools on Aristotle Onassis's yacht were covered in whale foreskin. Sounds fishy to me (no pun intended). Ever heard it before? Is that even possible, let alone true?
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-------------------- Assume that all my posts will be edited at least once. Dyslexic -- can't spell, can't type, can't proofread. Posts: 8317 | From: Reading, PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
How do you get a job like that - removing whale foreskins to cover seats with?
-------------------- "Silly customer, you cannot hurt a Twinkie." -Apu (The Simpsons) Posts: 2026 | From: 10 miles South of Boston | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
...the trick was finding enough Jewish baby whales in the first place.
"Oy, what a bris!"
(I'm pretty sure there's a Moby Dick joke in there somewhere as well!)
-------------------- [God said] "I'll just sit back in the shade while everyone gets laid; that's what I call intelligent design." - Chris Smither, "Origin of the Species" Posts: 411 | From: Fairfield, CT | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by musicgeek: ...the trick was finding enough Jewish baby whales in the first place.
"Oy, what a bris!"
(I'm pretty sure there's a Moby Dick joke in there somewhere as well!)
YOMANK
"...but he got to keep the tips so it was worth it."
-------------------- "Silly customer, you cannot hurt a Twinkie." -Apu (The Simpsons) Posts: 2026 | From: 10 miles South of Boston | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by musicgeek: ...the trick was finding enough Jewish baby whales in the first place.
"Oy, what a bris!"
(I'm pretty sure there's a Moby Dick joke in there somewhere as well!)
Actually, this is from the lesser known book "Morrie Dick." You know...the one that starts, "Call me Ish-mohel..."
Never mind, I'll do it myself...
-------------------- You fail to consider, for such is the tyranny of fashion, that the swan is not a slim animal... -Jincy Kornhauser, Melinda Falling Posts: 1762 | From: Charleston, West Virginia | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I know it's not the whale sharks' skin at least. Speaking of which, I don't think that real whales have "that" either. Or am I wrong?
Posts: 104 | From: Worden, Illinois | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I think Setzer doubted that whales have that (not for British school whales).
He's wrong.
-------------------- My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. - Pooh Bear Posts: 2209 | From: Hamburg, Germany | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
The discussion is not about whales' penises, which nobody can deny, but about wether they've got foreskins.
-------------------- Små hönor skall inte lägga stora ägg för då blir de slarviga i ändan Posts: 1334 | From: Sweden | Registered: Feb 2000
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Bunny
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
This is indeed true. I viewed a documentary recently where during a tour of the Christina the barstools in question were shown.
Here is another source that mentions the barstools:
quote:ARIS BAR
Perhaps the most famous spot on board, John F. Kennedy first met Sir Winston Churchill in Ari's Bar in 1957. The intricately detailed bar contains barrels and sea chests hinting of pirate treasure, whaling harpoons and an illustrated wall map of the world. The circular bar itself was originally crafted from the timbers of a Spanish Galleon, wound with heavy sailing rope and is adorned with footrests and handholds of ornately carved whales' teeth. It features a glass top over a lighted relief of the sea, which depicts the development of ships through history with tiny model ships that can be moved around by magnets. The barstools are covered in whale foreskin, a fact that Onassis delighted in telling his guests.
posted
The only source is Onassis himself so it's hardly reliable evidence. You probably know people who exaggerate a little just for fun. What if the stools were covered with something similar, such as some other kind of whaleskin. So Onassis tells this story every time people come in his bar just to see their reactions, get a laugh, get people relaxed and talking. So I wouldn't be surprised to find out it's not quite true.
Some things to check: Did Onassis like to exaggerate or tell tales? Is there some part of the whale penis (yes, all mammals have them) that corresponds to a foreskin and does it have skin that could be used in this way? (Is there a whale urologist in the house?!) Is the story confirmed by anyone who would have knowledge of the stools, for example the company that made them?
Too many questions unanswered to call this one true.
Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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VOODEWRAGE
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
Well they say the way they circumsize a whale is with foreskin divers. Get it? :-)
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posted
And to that extent, aren't whales a protected species? If so, how would one be able to acquire the necessary material without possibly breaking the law? Usually when a dead whale washes ashore it looks more like a gelatinous blob (google "globster") than a whale.
-------------------- "Silly customer, you cannot hurt a Twinkie." -Apu (The Simpsons) Posts: 2026 | From: 10 miles South of Boston | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
LittleDuck, whales have always been hunted legally (and illegally). There is a ban on hunting but certain species are still hunted by several countries as there are a few loopholes in the agreements.
We still get whale meat at our stores and restaurants. Not much, though. Japanese people my age and older remember having whale meat at school. So, when the yacht was made (sometime during his life 1906-1975), whale products were still quite common.
Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I cannot recall whale skin being ever used for any purpose
I think it is perfectly possible Onasis would say something like that to impress visitors to his yacht. I am not sure about them being put at ease though. Somehow I would not feel particularly relaxed sitting on a whale penis Posts: 214 | From: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Years ago I visited the Amsterdam zoo. Part of it was like a natural history museum with skeletons of elephants and whales and such.
On the wall there was a long piece of leather. The description gave it as "skin of a whale's penis -- the only piece of whale skin that can be tanned and made into leather".
So perhaps not so much whale foreskin as whale penis skin.
Posts: 794 | From: Utrecht, Utrecht | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Funny thing, I'm reading a book right now about the winter months of circus life. They mention that when an elephant is killed it's penus is used to make wallets. I'm not sure why they don't use the rest of the animal though.
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