Ben Thompson
When we're growing up, there were things that we worried about a little more than we should.
Whether that be aliens or Bigfoot, there was almost something that would keep us up at night.
And anybody who's watched Disney's Pinocchio would have no doubt envisioned being swallowed whole by a whale.
Yeah, yeah, it's an unlikely scenario, isn't it? But say that this actually happened, how would it go down?
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Well, Michael Packard knows the answer to that - sort of.
It was 2021 and Packard was out swimming on the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, US, along with another crew member.
It was his second dive of the day and he was heading down towards the sea bed to pluck up some lobsters. Whilst down there, he had an encounter which was straight out of the Bible.
Pickard initially thought he'd been gulped up by a great white shark, but the lack of sharp teeth told him otherwise.
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As reported by The Cape Cod Times, the 56-year-old recalled: "All of a sudden, I felt this huge shove and the next thing I knew it was completely black.
"I could sense I was moving, and I could feel the whale squeezing with the muscles in his mouth."
This led him to conclude that a whale had swallowed him, adding: "And then I realised: 'Oh my God, I'm in a whale's mouth and he's trying to swallow me. This is it, I'm going die'.
"I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m getting out of here. I’m done, I’m dead.’ All I could think of was my boys — they’re 12 and 15 years old."
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In all, Packard estimated that he was in the whale's mouth for between 30 and 40 seconds.
Fortunately, he managed to free himself by moving around as much as possible, and eventually, the aquatic mammal opened its mouth and Packard could make his escape.
"I saw light, and he started throwing his head side to side, and the next thing I knew I was outside (in the water)." he said.
Once he surfaced, Packard was pulled on board by the other crew member, with his injuries consisting of some severe bruising and dislocated knee, as per BBC.
In case you wanted to know what his experience might have looked like. YouTuber Zack D. Films has put together a horrifying simulation of the event, which you can watch here:
This is a rather unusual event, as humpback whales are not aggressive animals, according to an expert.
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Jooke Robbins, the director of Humpback Whale Studies at the Center Coastal Studies, told Cape Cod News: "Based on what was described, this would have to be a mistake and an accident on the part of the humpback."
In fact, incidents of humpbacks swallowing humans are so rare that they're almost nonexistent.
By way of comparison, there are approximately 63 unprovoked shark attacks each year, with 14 confirmed fatalities having happened this year, according to the Florida Museum.