During thunder storms the safest place to be is beneath a whale since there is no recorded incident of a whale having been hit by lightning. This simple fact was what prompted some enterprising young men in the US to set-up a lightning deflector manufacturing business based around the concept of carrying a whale around in one’s pockets. Although initial investment was hurried and enthusiastic, the company folded within a week of floating on the stock market when no-one would buy their product, seemingly deterred by the high-pitched keening noises and the overwhelming stench of rotting whale carcass, thus precipitating the 1929 stockmarket crash.