I don't know a lot about whaling but what I know, this guy gets wrong. Whale oil burns bright white, without smoke, without odor. SOURCE: old-timers in the watch industry with stocks of fucking whale oil. I've seen photos, have not seen burning whale oil, but we're talking the difference between "daylight balanced" and "cool white." Actually the heavy guys don't really give a fuck. Watch guys, on the other hand, regret the demise of Nye's Dolphin Head Oil and not just because Moebius is expensive. Haven't burned it, but it has no smell. Margarine is a beef byproduct. However, due to a lack of labeling laws it often ended up being a "whatever disgusting gack you had sitting around" product. The whole point of margarine is it was dumbly cheaper than butter, and if you make it from whale oil it most assuredly isn't. Much faster to get through than the book.ts primary historical use was as a fuel source for lamp lights since it emitted a fairly bright yellow glow at the expense of an unpleasant though not overwhelming odor.
Whale oil’s second major historical use was as a lubricant, particularly for heavy industrial machinery.
Whale oil’s third major historical usage was as a key ingredient in margarine.