In 2007 Joy Reidenberg, a comparative anatomist and a professor at the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was called in to do an autopsy on a wayward Whale who had wondered into the Gowanus Canal. This baby minke whale (baby = 12 foot long sea creature) was sadly given the name Sludgie by the Daily News as a reference Fudgie the Whale ice cream cakes. Upon being confused and trapped in the Gowanus Canal, Sludgie’s plight captured the hearts of local New Yorkers. But despite the hopes of an entire city for his escape, Sludgie would never leave Gowanus and would end up on Professor Reidenberg’s make-shift autopsy table.
In this piece from TedxGowanus, Professor Reidenberg talks about her examination of poor Sludgie the Whale:
Sludgie skull will be on display at TedxGowanus on January 14, 2014 thanks to Proteus Gowanus.
Get your tickets to TedxGowanus here.