One and all, they were harpooned and dragged up hither from the bottom of the sea.

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The world, as many say, has moved on, and a majority see whales as creatures to be hugged rather than harpooned.

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It harbors thick layers of valuable blubber beneath its skin, and the whales are so chunky that they float quickly to the surface after they're harpooned.

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German dramatist Bertolt Brecht harpooned the arrogance of the privileged class ("well-born stinkers") in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle, " his 1944 absurdist tale of exile, social inequality and misguided justice.

WSJ: Review: 'Caucasian Chalk Circle' jabs at injustice

He had also caught, off Long Island, some of the largest sharks ever landed: a 4, 500lb (2, 000kg) great white harpooned in 1964, and a 3, 400lb one, big as a Volkswagen, caught with rod and reel in 1986.

ECONOMIST: Frank Mundus