The exploding whale incident remains one of the most bizarre spectacles ever recorded

It’s been over 50 years since the original incident, but its bizarre nature continues to be a topic of conversation today.

The 1970 whale explosion incident was a sight to behold, and although it was not the only time it had happened, it was the first time it had been man-made and reported by the media.

It all happened on November 9, 1970 in Florence, on the Oregon coast, USA.

A huge, lifeless sperm whale weighing about eight tons and measuring about 45 feet (14 m) long washed up on Florence Beach and lay on the shore for days, rotting and emitting an unpleasant and pungent odor.

Something had to be done about the carcass, and it was up to the Oregon Department of Transportation, which had jurisdiction over the beaches, to decide on a plan of action.

The exploding whale incident will never be forgotten. (dark records/YouTube)

The last whale beaching in the state occurred in 1910. Because records didn’t show how it was handled, authorities were at a loss.

They thought that burying it in the sand would mean that the sea would eventually reclaim it, while cutting it up to dispose of it would involve logistical problems, such as finding people who would actually do it.

In the end, they decided to decimate the carcass with 450 kg of dynamite, with the expected small pieces of blubber being eaten by the surrounding wildlife.

A crowd began to gather, but was moved a quarter mile away for safety reasons before the whale was blown up.

However, a passerby with experience in handling explosives stopped and told authorities that they needed less explosives to push the carcass into the sea, or more to completely decimate it.

Of course, they ignored these warnings and went through with the plan, which couldn’t have gone worse if they had tried.

The explosion caused more danger than anything else. (dark records/YouTube)

The explosion threw the right side of the whale carcass 45 meters into the air, while pieces of whale and sand shot into the sky like a volcano.

The crowd’s awe was short-lived, however, as the whale’s blubber pieces moved towards them very quickly.

Whale fragments rained down on the crowd and news crews trying to run away. News reporter Paul Linnman said he believed he could have been killed by the debris.

Luckily no one was hurt, but a car was destroyed by a piece of whale meat the size of a coffee table and, ironically, it belonged to the passerby who had warned authorities about the amount of dynamite they were using.

What was even worse than the rubble, however, was the smell, which those present said was “twice as terrible” once the body was blown open.

Seagulls in the area that were supposed to feast on the remains were instead driven far from the area by the explosion, with every aspect of the plan going awry.

Since then, the incident has become a cautionary tale about how to deal with dead whales, and the state of Oregon showed that it had learned from the event when 41 sperm whales washed up on its beach in 1979 and decided to burn and bury them this time.

It’s still the state’s official policy to deal with whale carcasses, and it sounds a lot less dangerous and more thoughtful.

Selected image source: darkrecords/YouTube

Topics: Animals, History, Science, US News