鲸鱼生吞过活人吗？

It's comforting to think that if you were somehow swallowed by a whale à la Jonah or Pinocchio, you'd simply hang out in his belly in one piece until he eventually spit you back out, unharmed and intact. Unfortunately, the conditions within a whale are slightly less than optimal for human survival, but take heart -- your odds of ending up in this type of situation are pretty low.

要是你被鲸鱼完全吞入肚中，基本上你是可以被完好地吐出来的。虽然鲸鱼肚子对人类来说不是什么很友好的环境，但不用怕，你遇到这种状况的概率还是很低的。

In a 2012 article for Salon, reporter Ben Shattuck pored over the records at the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library. Despite his extensive research at one of the most comprehensive whaling archives on the planet, he failed to find a single report of anyone ever being swallowed alive by a whale. He found plenty of reports of whalers who were bitten or injured by the creatures, and several who died after tangling with a whale, but none related to swallowing .

2012年记者Ben Shattuck仔细研究了新贝德福德捕鲸博物馆的记录。尽管他在这个星球上最全面的捕鲸档案之一中进行了广泛的研究，但他没有找到任何人被鲸鱼活吞的报告。他发现有大量关于被咬伤或受伤的捕鲸者的报告，还有一些人在与鲸鱼纠缠后死亡，但没有一例与被吞有关。

But what about James Bartley? According to legend, Bartley was part of a whaling crew in the Falkland Islands during the 19th century when he was swallowed alive by a whale. A few days later, his crew managed to capture the whale and cut it open, freeing Bartley. Not only was the sailor still alive, but he had a paler complexion thanks to exposure to stomach acid within the belly of the beast. It's a great story -- and the bleached out details make it seem more plausible -- but if you dig into the tale a bit you'll discover it's simply not true [source: Shattuck]. The story originated in a letter reportedly written by one of Bartley's fellow crew members, who supposedly sailed with Bartley on the Star of the East. Further research reveals that not only was there no one by the name of James Bartley aboard the ship, but the vessel wasn't actually a whaler. Even more telling, the wife of the ship's captain went on record saying that the entire whale story never actually happened and was likely just a hoax by a bored group of crew members.

但James Bartley怎么样?根据传说，Bartley是19世纪福克兰群岛捕鲸船员之一，当时据说他被鲸鱼活活吞食。几天后，船员设法抓住了鲸鱼并将其切开，救出了他，这位水手还活着，而且由于暴露在鲸鱼肚子里的胃酸中，他脸色更苍白。这是一个伟大的故事 - 不清楚的细节使传说看起来更合理 - 但如果深入了解这个故事，会发现它根本不是真的。这个故事起源于一封由Bartley的其他船员撰写的信件，据称，他们与Bartley乘“东方之星”号航行。进一步的研究表明，不仅没有叫James Bartley的人登上这艘船，而且这艘船实际上并不是捕鲸船。更有说服力的是，这位船长的妻子有记录在案，说整个故事从未真正发生过，很可能只是一群没品船员的恶作剧。

With their massive mouths, it certainly seems possible that a whale could swallow someone whole, so why is it so unlikely? Consider the whale's anatomy; baleen whales, or whales without teeth, are some of the largest creatures on the planet. Despite their massive size, baleen whales -- which include blue and finback whales -- could never get you into their bellies thanks to their relatively small esophagus. These creatures are designed to eat small prey like sea plankton, and the opening in their throat is only about as large as a basketball, so you'd never make it that far .

由于嘴巴很大，鲸鱼似乎有可能吞下整个人，所以为什么这是不可能的呢?考虑一下鲸鱼的解剖结构：须鲸或没有牙齿的鲸鱼是这个星球上最大的生物。尽管尺寸巨大，但须鲸 - 包括蓝鲸和长尾鲸 - 由于它们的食道相对较小，它们永远无法让你进入腹部。这些生物被设计成像海洋浮游生物一样吃小型猎物，它们的喉咙开口只有篮球大小，所以你永远不会进去的。

But what about toothed whales? Sperm whales eat whole squid and seals, so you could easily fit down their throats and into their bellies. However, once you reached the first of the sperm whale's four stomachs, your journey would probably reach a quick end. Not only would the whale's stomach acid make quick work of you, but you'd experience a distinct lack of air on the inside.

但是有牙齿的鲸鱼呢? 抹香鲸吃鱿鱼和海豹，所以可以轻松地将它们放入肚子里。然而，一旦你到达了抹香鲸的四个肚子中的第一个，你的鲸鱼之旅可能很快就结束了。鲸鱼的胃酸不仅可以让你快速溶解，空气也明显缺乏。

Of course, you're much more likely to get eaten or maimed as you try to make it past the sperm whale's sharp teeth, which are roughly as long as a large steak knife. Plenty of whalers have tangled with sperm whales and lost their hands or lives thanks to these mean teeth .

当然，当你试图通过抹香鲸的锋利牙齿时，你更容易被吃掉或致残，它们的牙齿大致和大牛排刀一样长。由于这些牙齿，大量的捕鲸者与抹香鲸缠斗时失去了双手或生命。