science

Whales Tales

Whales Tales is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Whales Tales rather than just read about it. In short: Whales Tales (alternatively, "Wales Tails" or "Prince") is a fast-paced, vocal drinking game, which is simply described as a form of "Tag, you're it," where one player (the "Prince") standing in a circle of players begins by declaring the number of players and then calling on another player by number. Rules These are some typical rules: Declaring The Prince beings a round by (A) drinking, then (B) declaring (1) the…

Key takeaways

Whales Tales belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Whales Tales to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Whales Tales from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Whales Tales (alternatively, "Wales Tails" or "Prince") is a fast-paced, vocal drinking game, which is simply described as a form of "Tag, you're it," where one player (the "Prince") standing in a circle of players begins by declaring the number of players and then calling on another player by number.

Rules

These are some typical rules:

Declaring The Prince beings a round by (A) drinking, then (B) declaring (1) the total number of players ("Knights") standing in the circle, followed by (2) a number designating a target player by number of places to the left relative to the "Prince". Phrasing of the Prince's declaration can vary. Examples of common declarations include: "Whales Tales, the Prince of Whales, Prince in the court of (number of players) calls (target player number)," "I see <number of players> knights and a Prince. And (target player number)." The declaration is not complete until the Prince uses a designated word, e.g., "... Prince in the court of 5 CALLS 3" or "I see 4 knights and a prince . . .AND 2 . . ."

Responding The target player responds "nah," the speaker then asks "Who?", and the target player responds with a number designated the next target player, to the left relative to the target player. In fast games, the targeted players do not wait to hear a "who" but in essence respond "Nah <next target player number> . . . Who?" The sequence of number, nah, who? continues until a mistake is made. A target player failing to respond promptly, another player responding when not called, a player not following the specific phrasing, or a late "who?" are errors that stop the round. The erring player become the new prince, drinks, and declares to begin a new round. If multiple players chirp, or a player chirps and the target player misses (fails to respond), the left-most player becomes the new Prince. The new Prince may try to cause the other players to chirp by blurting numbers prior to using the designated trigger word. "I see 4 knights and a prince... 3, 2, 5 knights and a prince, AND ..."

Blunders Mistakes stopping play and requiring a drink by blundering players include:

Improperly stating the initial declaration immediately before calling a target player. Failure to take a drink prior to making a declaration. Playing with an empty cup / vessel When a target payer responds too slowly (a "miss"). When an uncalled person responds out of turn (a "chirp"). A slow, or no, "who?" from a responding player Pointing with one's finger is a blunder that requires a drink. Players must indicate other players using their elbow. A new player joining the game becomes the new Prince. When a player leaves the game, the player to the left of the leaving player becomes the new Prince. Example game Four players A, B, C, and D stand in a circle: A B C D A is the Prince and declares: "Whales Tales, the Prince of Wales, calls regular rotational tails, on a court of 4 on 2 D: "nay" A: "who" D: "3" C: "nay" D: "who" C: "4" C: "nay,who,1" D: "nay" C: "who" D: "1" B: "nay" D: "who" and so on....

Variations The Prince may declare and respond to themselves multiple times before calling a target player. For example, "I see 4 knights and a Prince, and 5, nah who? 5, nah who? 3." Alternatively, the Prince may call themselves by zero, for example, by calling "nought" or "aught". The Prince may declare a variation of the rules. For example, "Whales Tales, the Prince of Whales, Prince calls <type of> tales, in the court of (number of players), on (target player number)." Example variations include: blindfolded facing outward playing at far corners of the room pants around the ankles while spinning in a circle Landmines. Players who want to participate but are learning or too slow to keep up may opt to be designated a landmine. The other players cannot call the landmine's number. If the a landmine is called, (ideally) the landmine says "Boom!" and the calling player becomes the next Prince.

Cultural Influence and legacy A session of Whales Tales, dubbed "Rotating Prince," is described in Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow. Pynchon's reference to the game has itself been called "a dramatized reading and interpretation of Gravity's Rainbow. The Pynchon industry has, of course, been immersed in a session of the game for three decades." Track 4 of the Cocteau Twins album Victorialand is titled "Whales Tales."

Origins Whales Tales reached its heyday in the late 1930s after the Abdication of Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales, and was played in fraternities at least as early as the 1960s. Whales Tales bears some resemblance to certain traditional children's games, including The priest of the parish,, which reportedly dates back to the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, King Plaster Palacey, and The Prince of Wales (or Prince of Paris).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Whales Tales

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Whales Tales claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Whales Tales before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Whales Tales ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Whales Tales

In research: Whales Tales appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Whales Tales in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Whales Tales is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drinking culture, Party games, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Whales Tales outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Whales Tales in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Whales Tales means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Whales Tales out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Whales Tales in simple terms?

Why does Whales Tales matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Whales Tales?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Whales Tales.