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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Scientists embarked on a study of sperm whales [csmonitor.com] to understand whether Herman Melville's tale of a whale that sunk a ship by ramming it with its massive forehead is truly fact or fiction.
...

Based on mechanics — the research team included a bioengineer — the team decided that a sperm whale can ram an object [techtimes.com] more than twice its size without any ill effects whatsoever. The "junk" portion of the forehead can safely absorb and distribute the stress of impact, Milafel Dacanay reported for Tech Times. 

But researchers also wonder if sperm whales get their large foreheads from their mammal origins. Their fellow mammal cousins, with rams being one example, are famous for more observable instances of ramming, often fighting over mates — suggesting that Captain Ahab and his real-life fellows may have been victims of a sexual competition mechanism gone awry. 

So...Moby Dick liked the cut of the Pequod's jib?

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