I’ve made a discovery today, and that discovery is that 2020 is a very special year. Sure, it’s the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the 45th birthday of Bohemian Rhapsody, and 10 years since Lady GaGa’s meat dress. But more importantly, I found out that 2020 marks 50 years since the exploding whale of Oregon blew into our lives.
It’s one of my absolute favourite stories. Ever. In 1970, a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach in Oregon, USA. It was 14 meters long, and about 7,300 kg – so not exactly easy to move.
In a TV report filming the eventual whale explosion, the anchor explains why this was the best method of whale removal. It couldn’t be buried because it would be dug up or uncovered, and it couldn’t be cut up because nobody wanted to cut it up. Which makes sense I guess, I sure as hell wouldn’t be volunteering.
So their natural answer? Dynamite.
According to the news report, they jammed a “half ton” of dynamite into this whale, or about 450kgs. This, as you can probably guess, was way too much dynamite.
Standing on a beach full of people, the explosion that was just meant to break the whale carcass into more manageable bits went off, and it absolutely obliterated the whale.
In the words of the cameraman reporting on the blast: “Our cameras stopped rolling immediately after the blast. The humor of the entire situation suddenly gave way to a run for survival as huge chunks of whale blubber fell everywhere. Pieces of meat passed high over our heads, while others were falling at our feet. The dunes were rapidly evacuated as spectators escaped both the falling debris and the overwhelming smell.”
You’ll be pleased to know that they learned from the exploding whale. Nine years later, in 1979, a pod of 41 sperm whales washed ashore in almost the exact same spot. Oregon State Parks decided to burn and bury them.
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