Futility Closet

In 1820, the Nantucket whaleship Essex was attacked and sunk by an 85-foot sperm whale in the South Pacific, a thousand miles from land. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the attack, which left 20 men to undertake an impossible journey to South America in three small whaleboats. We'll also learn about an Australian athlete who shipped himself across the world in a box in 1964 and puzzle over an international traveler's impressive feat of navigation. Sources for our feature on the whaleship Essex: Owen Chase, Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex, 1821. Thomas Farel Heffernan, Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase and the Essex, 1981. Thomas Nickerson et al., The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale, 2000. Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea, 2000. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, 1851. Adam Summers, "Fat Heads Sink Ships," Natural History 111:7 (September 2002): 40-41. David R. Carrier, Stephen M. Deban, and Jason Otterstrom, "