How did sperm whales help get Margaret Thatcher re-elected in 1983? Well, obviously they sent postcards from Antarctica.
Today's episode of Seemingly Unrelated takes us all the way down to the Antarctic to find out about whale hunting. Why are they called Sperm Whales? What happened on Deception Island? Where is the worst postal appointment in the world? Would you believe that Thatcher was universally disliked when she was prime minister?
If you're enjoying these first three episodes, please consider stopping by our Patreon for a 4th bonus episode available right now! Just visit seeminglyunrelatedpod.com to find that and the footnotes, socials, everything related to the show.
Footnotes:
‘1983: Thatcher Triumphs Again’. 5 April 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393313.stm.
‘A History of Whaling | National Science and Media Museum’. https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/history-whaling.
Biggs, Simon. ‘Raid on Deception Island. Antarctica’. RoyalMarinesHistory, 15 February 2020. https://www.royalmarineshistory.com/post/2020/02/15/raid-on-deception-island-antarctica.
British Antarctic Survey. ‘The Antarctic Treaty (1959)’. https://www.bas.ac.uk/about/antarctica/the-antarctic-treaty/the-antarctic-treaty-1959/.
Facts, Whale. ‘Spermaceti’. Whale Facts (blog), 29 April 2013. https://www.whalefacts.org/spermaceti/.
Freedman, Lawrence. The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: War and Diplomacy. Psychology Press, 2005.
Fuchs, V. E. Organisation and Methods. Vol. 1. London: HMSO, 1953. https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/511141/.
‘Landing - South Georgia Heritage Trust’, 22 August 2024. https://sght.org/.
NBC News. ‘Awash in Whale, Japan Can’t Eat It All’, 9 February 2006. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11258464.
‘SDP: Breaking the Mould’. 25 January 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1136223.stm.
‘South Georgia, Operation Paraquat - Falkland War 1982’. . https://www.naval-history.net/F32-South_Georgia_retaken-Paraquat.htm.
UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. ‘Operation Tabarin and Its Postal History 1943-1945’. https://shop.ukaht.org/products/operation-tabarin-and-its-postal-history-1943-1945.
Whale & Dolphin Conservation UK. ‘What Is Baleen?’ https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/what-is-baleen/.
Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture.
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