Just file this one under the "WTH?" category: a recent analysis of Japanese whaling activities revealed some outlandish scientific experiment attempts, including that of trying to cross-breed whales with cows. No that isn't the piece of cheese you ate before bed last night talking, you actually read that correctly.

Not only have scientists deemed 43 Japanese research papers "useless" and "esoteric," they also uncovered attempts to inject minke whale sperm into cow eggs in hopes of creating test-tube whale babies. Believe it or not, this is the "scientific research" Japan speaks of when they attempt to defend their annual whale hunt.

Dr. Nick Gales of the International Whaling Commission understated the situation by calling it "strange."

"[The research involves] really bizarre and strange experiments with sheep and pigs and eggs," he said. "It's totally esoteric; very strange indeed."

How exactly would those living arrangements work? Six months under wanter, six months on land to appease both sides of the family? Not to mention the world is probably better off not knowing what kind of chaos would result from a mammal weighing thousands of pounds emitting the toxic fumes of cow farts.

» The Sydney Morning Herald