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Whether you are a water sports enthusiast or not, there is a chance that you have contemplated what it’s actually like to be swallowed by a giant whale. Well, to some people’s horror, this happened to a diver last week. And, well, he survived to tell the story.

The fascinating moment, for anyone wondering what this horrifying experience is all about, presented itself—the man, Michael Packard from Massachusetts, answered the most gut-wrenching and the most hilarious questions by the public online. Below you can check out the best ones and have a good laugh or limit your water sports to splashing bubbles in the convenience of a bathtub forever.

More info: Reddit

Michael’s son Jacob, who is a Reddit platform user and goes under the name of bloxiefox, decided to take the initiative and host his father in a Q&A session called AMA, which stands for Ask Me Anything. Last week, his father went through the horrifying experience of nearly being eaten alive. The 56-year-old man, who dives for lobsters in the Cape Cod area, thought he was going to die as a humpback whale tried to swallow him, perhaps accidentally mistaking him for food. Cape Cod is frequented by huge humpback whales as well as sharks.

Michael was 45 ft down when he felt a huge bump and everything went dark. He was sensing that he was moving and his first thought was that he'd been bitten by a shark. After feeling around, he noticed that there weren’t any teeth nor he was feeling any great pain. And that’s when the moment of realization hit him: "Oh my God, I’m in a whale’s mouth and he’s trying to swallow me." The diver thought that he was going to die and his last thought was actually about his kids and wife.

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As everything was happening quite quickly, he was thinking about how to get out of the mouth that had grabbed him, as an animal of such size could have done anything it wanted with the human. Suddenly the whale went up to the surface and started shaking his head, which then forced the diver to fall out into the water. As he was floating on the surface, he actually couldn’t believe what just had happened and he thought that his legs were broken, but luckily, they were only bruised. Michael thought he spent around 30 seconds inside, but having a regulator in place allowed him to breathe properly. To his surprise, the whale surfaced and let the diver go.

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Michael’s lobster run partner, who, as usual, followed the bubbles once the diver was in the water, saw the whale coming up and spitting the man out. Michael also shared a message on Provincetown Community Space, thanking people who helped to rescue him. “I just want to clarify what happened to me today. I was lobster diving and a humpback whale tried to eat me. I was in his closed mouth for about 30 to 40 seconds before he rose to the surface and spit me out. I am very bruised up but have no broken bones. I want to thank the Provincetown rescue squad for their caring and help,” shared the whale incident survivor.

#6

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backatya
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He got out by tickling the whale's tongue. He wasn't able to see anything because the whale doesn't have a night lite in his mouth. Last he could have been chewed up

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#8

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Willem Hunse
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good thing too. Whales are the loudest animals on earth and its song probably would have deafend you if you were inside its mouth

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#11

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sleepydeer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

sorry if this sounds dumb because i dont understand tissue, but how can you get tissue damage? Whales dont have sharp teeth; they dont even have actual teeth

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#15

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Iris Engler
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or confused maybe. Was most probably also the first experience like that for him

Arctic Fox Lover
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Plot twist: It's the same whale from Pinocchio and the same "large fish" that swallowed Jonah :>

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Kristen Veader
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tonight at the whale bar: "You guys..... you wouldn't BELIEVE what I almost swallowed the other day!"

Tiny Dog
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe a bit like taking a mouthful of salmon and discovering there’s a bone in it?

backatya
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know I doubt the man took the whales temp or blood pressure.

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#17

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Samantha Eddy
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Haha, priorities. Life or death, don't come back until you get some lobsters!!

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#18

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Samantha Eddy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The whale's name should clearly be Dag Gadol (Hebrew text meaning "big fish" as referenced in 'The Book of Jonah'.

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Let’s All Just Try And Be Decent
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm intrigued as to how they know for sure the whale is absolutely ok? Like, is it tagged and monitored? Is it a "local" well known whale that stays in a very small area? (Unlikely). It may have been or / seemed fine the moment you got out, but I imagine that you just went as fast in the opposite direction as possible and didn't check on the whale at the time. (Also this is not a criticism, I think anyone in danger from a large animal is more concerned with getting away then checking on its wellbeing.) I know this is a random question and not the point and I'm picking here but I'm just super curious.

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#24

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HempFairy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"... I soon realized that i was in a whale." A sentence i would expect to read in some tale.

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#25

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Let’s All Just Try And Be Decent
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually a pretty fascinating question when you think about pressure and having to come up slowly, and "the Benz" and all that. I'm guessing from the fact that the people on the boat could see what happened, he just luckily was very near the surface. But yes, this is a fascinating question, would have probably been quite different if he had been much much deeper and it surfaced with him. I mean. That must have happened to someone at some point.

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#26

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ZombieGirl
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah...I wonder how far he got into it's mouth/throat/etc. He said it was dark and full of water so who knows!

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#42

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Suzanne Haigh
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just like Britain, 6 feet 3 inches and whale 10 meters, metric or Imperial, Both!

#43

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Suzanne Haigh
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Does it though? You are now a celebrity, everyone wishes to know you.