I've mentioned already how I grew up regularly visiting the Smithsonian as a child throughout the 80s and 90s. If you visited during that time period, then the big panel on this page will likely look VERY familiar: This is the fiberglass life-size model of a blue whale that hung from the ceiling in the "Life in the Sea" hall.
I was about 6 years old when my family visited the museum for the first time, and I remember loving everything about it -- until we reached this exhibit. Upon seeing this MONSTROUS blue whale looming overhead (and looking directly at people as they walked through the door), I was immediately petrified. My dad ended up having to carry me with my eyes closed through the exhibit because I was too scared to even walk past it.
Ever since then, I've struggled with thalassophobia: a fear of deep ocean and any giant objects/creatures within it. I can't even watch footage of sunken ships without my legs turning to jelly. I'm fine in shallow water, but the idea of being in deep water messes with my head.
And yes, while Peter here is reacting as if this is his first time seeing the whale, the actual whale model itself was first constructed in 1963, but was actually removed from the Smithsonian at the turn of the millennium. So sadly, it no longer exists. There are also surprisingly few photos of it online, so I had to do some digging to track down a good reference photo to use when drawing this page.
