# No Mouth-breathing whales **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 15, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053 "2008-08-15T01:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/1 "2008-08-15T01:39:10Z")
“[Whales cannot](http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/anatomy/Blowhole.shtml) breathe through through their mouths (like people can). Their trachea (the tube to the lungs) and esophagus (the tube to the stomach) are not connected.” -I did not know that, until today. Unless they become expert belchers, whales would have to talk through their blowholes. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/2 "2008-08-15T01:42:50Z")
So, oversized-bottle corks are now plausible lethal weapons. Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/3 "2008-08-15T02:52:33Z")
The same is true of horses, rats, mice, and probably hundreds of other species. People have been known to kill their poor horses for insurance money by stuffing plastic bags up each nostril. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/4 "2008-08-15T04:31:59Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] People have been known to kill their poor horses for insurance money by stuffing plastic bags up each nostril. [/QUOTE] I know this is terrible, but I find myself giggling uncontrollably picturing this. ☹ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/5 "2008-08-15T05:43:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] The same is true of horses, rats, mice, and probably hundreds of other species. People have been known to kill their poor horses for insurance money by stuffing plastic bags up each nostril. [/QUOTE] Why would poor horses have lots of insurance money? How would stuffing anything up your nostrils affect them? Puzzled in Punxsutawney. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/6 "2008-08-15T06:47:47Z")
> [@](#): > > How would stuffing anything up your nostrils affect them? Horses are notorious connesuers of physical humor so essentially they die laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/7 "2008-08-15T11:26:39Z")
[QUOTE=WarmNPrickly] Horses are notorious connesuers of physical humor so essentially they die laughing. [/QUOTE] Yes, surely you’ve heard of the horse laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/8 "2008-08-15T17:13:45Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] The same is true of horses, rats… [/QUOTE] I must’ve skipped zoology that day. However, thanks to the Dope, I do know that turtles can breath through their butt. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/9 "2008-08-15T17:26:31Z")
I assumed this was a follow-up to the ‘personal ad cliché’: no head games’ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/10 "2008-08-15T17:28:33Z")
Wouldn’t it just be easier to stick a plastic bag over the horse’s head? Or would the horse rebel? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/11 "2008-08-15T18:22:29Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] Wouldn’t it just be easier to stick a plastic bag over the horse’s head? Or would the horse rebel? [/QUOTE] Rebel? I can’t imagine it rebelling any less than it would having its nostrils stuffed with plastic bags. I’m still giggling reading this thread. I need help! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/12 "2008-08-15T18:27:16Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] Rebel? I can’t imagine it rebelling any less than it would having its nostrils stuffed with plastic bags. I’m still giggling reading this thread. I need help! [/QUOTE] Ah, now you’ve got me going… ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mouth-breathing-whales/460053/13 "2008-08-18T02:51:37Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] Wouldn’t it just be easier to stick a plastic bag over the horse’s head? [/QUOTE] It would certainly help while getting it to your enemy’s bedroom, saving that messy, tedious, cleanup phase.