While similar in appearance, they are unrelated to the penguin, who may have gained its name from the great auk’s scientific genus, Pinguinus. In fact the word “penguin” appeared in the 16th century as a synonym for Auk. 18th century whalers did not give a single fuck and referred to both as “woggins.” Ships’ logs from the time noted them as being quite fatty and delicious, but 18th century whalers would eat just about anything. Apparently, they also made great fires if you didn’t have wood available.
