I'm not prepared to assert that positively myself, but I shouldn't wonder if there was something in the idea.

Then the olive branch is the regular, recognised symbol of peace.

The reason of that is that oil is got out of olives, and oil is one of the most soothing things there is.

Of course, you get oil from other sources too--from whales, for instance; but the olive branch is chosen as a symbol because it's such a much more convenient thing to carry about than a whale is.

No explorer, when meeting a savage tribe with which he doesn't want to fight, could possibly wave a whale, even if he had one with him--and he wouldn't be likely to, unless he was exploring the polar regions--whereas he can wave an olive branch, and always does.