Hi friends. You might notice something a little different about this episode. That's because it's part of the moment of calm. You'll hear different theme music that is quieter and calmer. That makes these episodes great for winding down before bedtime or when you just need a few minutes to relax.

Thanks for listening.

From the brains behind brains on, this is the moment of um. Moment of Um comes to you from APM Studios.

I'm Loretta Lobster.

Thank you for calling Sandy Bottom Undersea Travel Services, where we'll help you plan the trip of your dreams.

How can I help you?

I see.

And what route are you interested in?

Gosh, that sounds like a lovely trip.

Mm, yes. I'll look into it right away and call you back within the hour.

Well, that was interesting. It was a fin whale who's planning a special long-distance trip for herself and her extended family.

I know whales do all kinds of long migrations, but this one seems extra long.

She wanted to know how long it would take for her to swim from San Diego, California, all the way to Japan, and that's something Harper and Tony were wondering, too. Gosh, I don't know how

fast whales swim or how far they can go. I think I'd better speak to a whale expert.

So the distance from San Diego to Tokyo, I think the question asked for Japan, but I picked a city in Japan so that we would have a target, is around 5,500 miles. Hi, my name is Vicki Stein. I am a science

writer and I used to work as a naturalist on sanctuary cruises. I used to work on a whale

watching boat leading tours in Monterey Bay, California. So that's just ocean distance, and that's really quite far.

There are lots of different species of whales.

We're going to be talking about baleen whales, which tend to be larger.

They're filter feeders, so they eat very small fish, and they strain out water from these

fish through these plates of baleen in their mouths,

which are like hairy plates that come down where their teeth might be.

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