The Heaviest Brain

Well that's another one we can tick off, on our lists of "things I ought to know".

I wonder how many people answered "the blue whale"?

The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale, while the blue whale is a baleen whale. Blue whales can be up to 110 feet in length, and weigh up to 190 tonnes. The next biggest whales are all baleen whales; the fin whale is second biggest – up to 90 feet and 110 tonnes. The largest sperm whale is a mere 60 feet long and weighs 50 tonnes.

An elephant's brain is about the same size as a blue whale's (according to ScienceDirect.com) – even though the elephant only weighs about three tonnes.

So ... how big is a sperm whale's brain?

According to OfWhale.com ("the site for whale lovers"), the sperm whale's brain weighs "about 8 kg", while the blue whale's is 6.92 kg. But if we're to believe Science Direct, the brain of a blue whale weighs "up to 9 kg". Unfortunately I can't find out how much Science Direct thinks the sperm whale's brain weighs.

So you pays your money and you takes your choice. Except that this is quizzing, and you have to have the same answer as the question setter. My advice is always to stick with the sperm whale; whenever the question is asked in these terms, that seems to be the answer.