Here are several sentences right out of an article on Wikipedia that concerns whirlpools: Powerful whirlpools have killed unlucky seafarers, but their power tends to be exaggerated by laymen. There are virtually no stories of large ships ever being sucked into a whirlpool. Tales like those by Paul the Deacon, Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe are entirely fictional. By the way, your question isn’t stupid. I actually found it interesting and I learned something new by answering it.