But these are special occasion words, sprinkled sparingly into writing and conversation. The words in heaviest rotation are short and mundane.

The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be because of how they are learned

Language has long been considered a uniquely human trait, with features that mark it out as distinct from the communication of all other species. However, research published in Science has uncovered the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language in humpback whale song.

Just like popular songs on TikTok, new humpback whale songs can rapidly spread across regions and populations to replace all-too-familiar tunes. But what makes their complex vocalizations so catchy? Humpbacks songs each consist of sound elements that are combined into phrases that are then repeated to create the themes that together form songs.