Science Beached whales pose risk of explosion. The decision on how to discard the thing is the stuff of legend. Doug Brazil tells the story about getting back to Portland and realizing they’d left the original film in a rental car in Florence and getting it back in time to air on KATU. After detonation, they figured that seagulls and other scavengers would eat up any whale meat that wasn’t washed away by the tide. On November 12, 1970, residents of the small town of Florence, Oregon … 21 Enchanting Photos Of Paronella Castle, The Australian Party Palace Abandoned In The Jungle, How The Dyckman Farmhouse Has Stood For 235 Years While New York City Grew Up Around It, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. In November 1970, the town of Florence, Oregon decided to blow up an 8-ton whale carcass that had washed up on the beach. For those who were there, it was a surreal sight to behold. “So I’m all excited, and I went over to my dad: ‘They’re going to blow it up, 20 cases of dynamite,’ and my father proceeded to say, ‘I think you misheard them. KATU/YouTubeReporter Paul Linnman stands in front of the carcass that’s about to be detonated in Oregon’s infamous exploding whale incident of 1970. The 45-foot-long, eight-ton sperm whale carcass had washed up on the beach days earlier, and Oregon’s Department of Transportation had been tasked with cleaning up the foul-smelling behemoth. A whale that washed up on shore in Newfoundland is in danger of exploding, … What happens after a whale dies? I think he said 20 sticks,'” Umenhoffer recalled. The one car demolished by blubber that day was purchased from a dealer whose slogan advertised a “whale of a deal.”. Marco Margaritoff is a Staff Writer at All That Is Interesting. An exploding ... News Report from 1970 when an engineer in Oregon decided that the proper way to get rid of an 8 ton dead whale would be to dynamite it. Explosions like this continue to this day, though the whales are first towed out to sea. On November 12, 1970, the Oregon Department of Transportation blew up a dead whale that had washed up on a Florence beach. ... 1970, a 45-foot, 8-ton dead sperm whale washed up on the shore of the coastal town of Florence, Oregon. Thursday brought a monumental anniversary 50 years in the making. “I’d come out of Starbucks at 7 a.m., run into someone, they’d say. Here’s how. KATU/YouTubeThornton consulted with munitions experts from the U.S. Navy before blowing up a whale. Though it would have been possible to cut the carcass into pieces after relieving methane pressure with incisions, nobody was eager to do so. 50 years ago, Oregon blew up a whale carcass with dynamite on live TV. Despite the fact that the Highway Division used a half-ton of dynamite, most observers said the crews needed more. The plan, conceived by the Oregon Highway Division in consultation with the U.S. Navy, was to use sufficient dynamite to blow the carcass to smithereens small enough that seagulls and other scavengers would clean up the remaining mess. A 45-foot dead Pacific Gray Whale washed ashore in Florence, Oregon, on November 9, 1970, and sat there for three days, rotting and stinking. KATU/YouTubeThe beached sperm whale was 45 feet long and weighed eight tons. “It might be concluded that should a whale ever wash ashore in Lane County again, those in charge will not only remember what to do,” concluded Linnman. The giant stinking carcass on the Florence beach put Oregon authorities in a bizarre pickle. “The story persists because it is interesting.”. The story of William the Conqueror’s funeral is a farcical one that culminates … Today, November 12, 2019, marks the 49th anniversary of KATU's infamous whale explosion. COVID-19 holiday risk: The safest and most dangerous activities KATU/YouTube Reporter Paul Linnman stands in front of the carcass that’s about to be detonated in Oregon’s infamous exploding whale incident of 1970. On the other hand, reporter Paul Linnman was less thrilled when he got the assignment to cover the exploding whale. William the Conqueror. Luckily, the event was recorded in a TV segment so bizarre that in recent years it’s been called a hoax. On November 12, 1970, a dead beached whale in Oregon needed to be disposed of. DOT public information officer Ed Shoaps believes Linnman’s footage is historic. I can’t believe I missed the celebration of this uniquely Oregon tradition, but November 12 marked the 50th anniversary of the funniest thing that ever happened. They gathered the right amount of explosives, and positioned them on the land side of the giant creature, hoping to blow the exploding dead whale outward into the ocean. For George Thornton, the exploding whale incident remained a regretful blemish until his death in 2013 at 84 years of age. “I consider it the first story to go viral on the internet,” said Shoaps. We could also mention what happened in Tainan, Taiwan. Experts are scrambling to find a way to dispose of the 380,000-pound (170,000-kilogram) corpse before gases generated by its decomposing body cause it … To his point, the exploding whale footage has remained an object of fascination for decades. They feared burying the whale would be useless, as its rotting flesh and stench would be exposed soon after. On November 12, 1970, residents of the small town of Florence, Oregon witnessed a rare sight as an exploding whale sent chunks of meat and blubber soaring 100 feet into the sky. KATU/YouTubeHalf a ton of dynamite was used in the infamous exploding whale incident. While he told Linnman on that fateful day in 1970 that he was “confident that it’ll work,” the plan’s failure embarrassed him for the rest of his life. Now, watch the remastered footage of one of the craziest local news segments ever. “Chunks of the animal flew in every direction, and spectators began to scream and run for cover when they glimpsed large pieces soaring directly overhead.”. You might even have seen some pictures, but not these. So, Assistant District Highway Engineer George Thornton made a historic call. The explosion showered everything — and everyone — in the immediate vicinity with bits, and in some cases, hunks of dead, smelly whale -- 8 tons worth. The beached sperm whale was 45 feet long and weighed eight tons. The story was considered an urban legend by most people, though. Claim: In 1970, the Oregon Department of Transportation attempted to dispose of a whale carcass by blowing it up. In this case, the explosion wasn’t natural: experts decided to place dynamite inside the corpse in order to remove it from the coast. The small town of Trout River, Newfoundland, has a big problem: a dead blue whale stranded on one of its beaches. “The stuff that’s coming down, the splatting sound and everything else, you realize people are running for their lives,” [photojournalist Doug] Brazil said. “I was getting good assignments and so when they asked me to go to Florence to cover the disposal of a whale, I went, ‘whoa, wait a minute — I’m boy wonder here. At least twelve sperm whales have beached themselves on North Sea coasts. To mark the occasion, the Oregon Historical Society used the original footage, shot on 16mm film, to remaster a 4k video of the report. Instead of bits fit for seagulls, chunks of whale flesh rained down, with at least one hefty enough to crush a car. Three days later, on Nov. 12, the dead whale exploded into history with what has been described as the first-ever viral news story. Assistant District Highway Engineer George Thornton (pictured) was aggravated about the incident until his death in 2013. All Rights Reserved. The a real-life billboard of a beached blue whale made of plastic was a collaboration between Greenpeace and Dentsu Jayme Syfu to increase awareness on ocean pollution. That’s not exactly how it went. Last Thursday, a “dead whale” shocked thousands on social media. Oregon Highway Division officials used tractors to clear the remains. By Colleen Curry April 30, 2014. “As it started to come down, it went boom!” Umenhofer remembered. Ultimately, the disastrous incident was thoroughly educational for those who believed blowing up a whale in public was appropriate. Copyright ©2020 PJmedia.com/Salem Media. 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