Whale Oil Quotes

“Until the first petroleum well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859, whale oil *was* oil. In Leviathan, a fine history of whaling, Eric Jay Dolin enumerates whale Phil's manifold applications: 'It was used in the production of soap, textiles, leather, paints, and varnishes, and it lubricated the tools and machines that drove the Industrial Revolution.' In fact, its use as a lubricant impervious to extremes in temperature persisted well into the space age -- NASA lubed its moon landers and other remotely operated vehicles with sperm whale oil until the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986.”
― Sarah Vowell

“Nay, church itself is a sort of whale; the pulpit is its spout-hole. … What other marvels does whale’s oil accomplish? Not only candles and lamps are supplied by it, but churches themselves are lit up with it. Yes, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and in all the most splendid churches in Christendom, whale-oil candles burn before the altar.”
― Melville Herman, Moby Dick