During the period from 1835 to 1872 United States citizens dispatched more than 300,000 whales to their deaths. This profit-making procedure was brutal for obtaining the oil. The ship crews cut blubber from whale bodies into long sections before boiling it to extract whale oil from the internal layers.
Although working with whale oil was both stinky and hazardous their financial earnings were very lucrative.
Whale oil had many uses. The lamp illumination during night-time required the burning of whale oil. The extracted whale oil served to increase machine productivity. People extracted both soap and margarine (similar to butter) through processing whale oil.
Among all the whale products obtained during whaling expeditions spermaceti stood as the most profitable commodity. Only sperm whales possessed this waxy material inside their skulls. The oil extracted from spermaceti offered the top quality for producing candles. The candle material burned with intense brightness and retained its fresh state forever.
The practice of hunting whales led particular countries to develop their strength. American naval power received its energy from whale oil during worldwide sea travel. Whale oil extraction drove inventors to discover newer approaches for increasing the extraction of whale oil.
During the middle of the 1860s the discovery of kerosene as an underground substance became available. The cost of kerosene turned out to be more economical than whale oil thus taking its place. The survival of whales resulted from this advancement while the world received an alternative light source.
The obsolete usage of whale oil has faded while its impact remains visible today. The seekers who searched for underground oil first named their petroleum material "rock oil" distinct from whale oil.
The cessation of whale oil production as a food source principally happened due to economic reasons because people discovered less expensive alternatives beneath the surface. In 1927 the last American commercial whale hunting vessel departed for its last expedition. It was a dying business. Despite underground oil discoveries people maintained their knowledge of extracting whale oil.
Some countries still kill whales today, but mostly for their meat, not their oil. Whale oil was a significant part of our past history but eventually lost its position to new discoveries beneath the ground..
