Welcome to Air and Mankies, Captain of Curiosity's, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm

and Mild.

Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these

amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosity's.

Most of us have heard about Moby Dick, the huge ship-smashing whale that Captain Ahab was

desperate to catch.

The book about this fantastical menace has earned a reputation as one of the great American

novels, published in 1851, it's even been called the greatest book of the sea ever written.

Now whether you agree with that assessment or not, the book's popularity makes it very

clear that we have a fascination with creatures of the deep, including gigantic whales.

But giant whales you see aren't just a thing of fiction, and they've been around for

a lot longer than Good ol' Moby Dick.

Whales haven't always been as well understood as they are now.

For many in the Middle Ages, a whale was essentially just a sea monster.

It was seen as something vicious that was to be avoided if at all possible.

In the 6th century, the seafarers of Constantinople were dealing with their own monster of a whale,

and just like Moby Dick, he was causing a bit of a problem for sailors.

And really, that makes sense.

No one had been able to study them or their personalities much at this point in history.

Instead of scientific reports about their migration patterns, sailors shared stories about

unfortunate decans being swallowed up by these huge creatures.

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