WATCH LIVE: Natural History Museum's Blue Whale Gets Washed

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The annual cleaning of the American Museum of Natural History's gigantic blue whale model has become one of the least expected, yet most satisfying, annual traditions in New York City.

The yearly phenomena is known as the #WhaleWash.

Watching museum staff armed with long-handled brushes and vacuums wipe away the massive amounts of dust from the 94-foot-long, 21,000-pound blue whale is strangely satisfying. Word's can't really do it justice, so you'll have to watch for yourself.

Check it out below:

To wash the entire whale model, a replica of the largest living animal known to man, the museum effectively shuts down the main attraction at the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life for three days.

Can't wait for the whale wash to begin? Here are some blue whale facts, via the museum:

• Blue whales have been hunted to near extinction.
• The blue whale is the largest animal alive today, but it's also fast. Blue whales can travel up to 30 miles per hour.
• Blue whale calls can be heard 620 miles away.
• The blue whale's diet consists mainly of small crustaceans called krill.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images