What about Jonah? That could've been true!

[Rokcet Scientist]

And there seems to be a connection with boats, Min!

[Welsh cake]

Its fake.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/kayak-mouth-whale.shtml

Whales aren't stupid enough to try (and fail) to eat people. Man on the other hand is dumb enough to hunt down these majestic giants and try to pass off their barbaric slaughter to an international community as "scientific research" when it is blatantly lacking scientific value or merit. Unlike the Japanese at least the Faroese twats have the honesty to admit they kill them because they love the hunt, not to survive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_...oe_Islands

[Minimalist]

It's a really good fake, though.

I wonder if whales are all that common in the Eastern Med?

[Rokcet Scientist]

It's a really good fake, though.

I wonder if whales are all that common in the Eastern Med?

Not anymore with all the polluted run-off from the surrounding overpopulated landmasses. Even in the western med they are a very rare sight these days. There's nothing to eat there for them anymore. Only pollution. Any whales in the Med today likely took a wrong turn outside the Pillars of Hercules. With all the fucking noise mankind makes underwater their sonar and echo-location 'satnav' gets screwed up.

And if you're specifically referring to Jonah: a strong case was made that Jonah's 'whale' was actually a giant Jewfish. Which would be fitting of course.
Giant Jewfish would be just as rare in the Med today as whales are.
BTW, when was Jonah's ordeal supposed to have taken place? Is the there a BC date for it?

[Minimalist]

When considering the likely BullShit Quotient of the Jonah story it is important to recall that both Judah and Israel were landlocked states. The Philistines and Phoenicians controlled the coasts from Syria to Egypt.

So maybe they heard fish stories about whales from actual seafarers and being ignorant country bumpkins they fell for it.

[Rokcet Scientist]

When considering the likely BullShit Quotient of the Jonah story it is important to recall that both Judah and Israel were landlocked states. The Philistines and Phoenicians controlled the coasts from Syria to Egypt.

Landlocked is very relative in Palestine/Canaan. Everything is very close together there. If there was a 3 mile strip separating the kingdoms of Judah and Israel from the sea it was a lot.

So maybe they heard fish stories about whales from actual seafarers and being ignorant country bumpkins they fell for it.

If we apply the standard sales talk correction factor, 'divide by six', and subtract the fisherman's exaggeration factor, 50%, Jonah's whale turns out to have been an anchovy.

[Justtristo]

How can anybody with a little bit of common sense take this story (The Book of Jonah) as anything other than an fairy tale beats me.

[Minimalist]

Shepherds usually make shitty sailors, R/S.

[Epimethean]

It is a silly fake-but that makes it suit the story even more!

[reverendjeremiah]

Jonah is an obvious fish tale. Only people like Lucent actually think stories like Jonah are actual historic record.