Moby Dick is big

From 1966, Undersea Agent #1. I think "Undersea" is actually an acronym in the title for their secret Atlantis base.

Anyway, one of the divers sees the giant object and says, "In the name of Moby Dick...will you look at that?"

The reference here is only on the size. Another name for whale. But we all understand.

I am wondering about a hundred years or so from now...will this be a reference with footnotes? Sort of like a new mythology?

We were reading a short story in class the other day, and one of the lines referenced Nikita Khruschev. There, of course, was an asterisk with an explanation. I didn't need it, but the kids sure did.

One hundred years from now, as more and more people have stopped reading this book, will it too become an asterisk, or will our collective memory still know that Moby Dick was a big whale? Many people still say Lassie for collies but it has been quite a while since the TV show.