The boom in whaling occurred due to the rising demand for spermaceti oil in America. Spermaceti oil was prized and worshiped for its efficiency. A candle crafted from spermaceti oil was one that could burn for days, leaving no smoke trail. With the mass production of spermaceti candles, Americans no longer had to worry about opening the windows in their homes when they lit a candle. In addition to this, whale oil was used in different applications as a wax. However, it is the composition of spermaceti oil that makes it so rare. NASA uses spermaceti oil in a multitude of projects up to date. This is an interesting conspiracy since whaling was officially banned in 1986. Rumor has it that NASA stored thousands of gallons of spermaceti oil somewhere for their own use explicitly. This, of course, revokes any rumors stating that NASA still hunts whales today. But why would NASA depend on such a rudimentary product in their missions? The answer lies in the composition of the whale oil itself. Spermaceti oil in particular doesn't freeze in subzero temperatures. This makes spermaceti oil extremely useful when it comes to lubricating a new space shuttle. Unfortunately for NASA, scientists have still been unable to synthesize spermaceti oil, making what's left in their reserves all that they've got.
Sources
Treehugger.com. N.p., 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/
whale-oil-as-space-lubricant-better-than-anything-we-can-create.html>.
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