Dorothy Braithwaite, age 9, of Ferndale, Washington, for her question:

What does a whale have in his body?

He has a skeleton with a backbone, a set of bony ribs and a bony skull. His enormous ribs are like a cage, so large that you could stand up and walk around inside. However, this space inside the whale is not empty. It holds an enormous pair of lungs, big enough to hold a whole roomful of air. Also in this region is the whale's heart. If he is a medium sized whale, his heart may weigh 200 pounds. It is about as heavy as a large man six feet tall. If he is one of the whopping whales, his heart may weigh 300 pounds.

The mighty giant has a liver that may weigh a quarter of a ton. His stomach is big enough to hold a ton of food. Most likely the largest item under his skin is special fat called blubber. A big whale has tons and tons of blubber, wrapped in thick layers around his bones and internal organs. This fatty blubber keeps him warm enough to swim comfortably in icy polar seas.