Willamette Week:

On November 12, 1970, the Oregon Department of Transportation blew up a dead whale that had washed up on a Florence beach. In what was called a “controlled explosion,” they used a half-ton of dynamite. It didn’t go well.

Chunks of dead whale blubber ended up all over both bystanders and the beach, flying out as far as a nearby parking lot where the flying flesh severely damaged at least one car. The decision to publicly dynamite an enormous mammal has become one of Oregon’s all-time most bizarre moments.

This is one of those videos that showed me the power of the internet. I still remember seeing this decades ago in a tiny QuickTime window and marveling at the fact that I could watch it on this “internet thing”.

I also marveled at the fact people could be so stupid as to think they could blow up a whale carcass.

Thanks to my friend and lifelong Oregon resident Ian Schray for the link.