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August 26th, 2026
Daily puzzle · Hard · Satellite map
Theme: Cities Built on Whaling Fortunes
These five ports grew fat on the whale-oil economy that lit lamps and greased machines before petroleum took over. New Bedford, Massachusetts once styled itself 'The City That Lit the World,' its mansions funded entirely by sperm whale oil. Nantucket was the original American whaling capital before shallow harbors pushed the industry to the mainland. Norway's Sandefjord and the Azorean port of Horta carried the same trade into the twentieth century, the latter still bearing scars of harpoon-era shipyards.
1
New Bedford, MassachusettsA 19th-century whaling port once called the richest city in America per capita.
2
Nantucket, MassachusettsAn island town that was the leading whaling port in colonial America.
3
Sandefjord, NorwayA Norwegian town that became a major center of modern Antarctic whaling.
4
Horta, PortugalAn Azorean port with a long history tied to sperm whale hunting in the Atlantic.
5
Albany, AustraliaHome to Australia's last operating whaling station, which closed in 1978.