In 1970, Oregon officials had an eight-ton dead whale rotting on a beach and needed to get rid of it. Their solution involved half a ton of dynamite—and resulted in chunks of whale blubber raining from the sky.
An Eight-Ton Problem Washes Ashore
On November 9, 1970, a roughly 45-foot sperm whale washed ashore near Florence, Oregon.
It weighed an estimated eight tons.
And after sitting on the beach for several days, it was becoming exactly the kind of problem you’d expect an eight-ton dead whale to become.
It smelled terrible. It wasn’t going anywhere. And somebody had to figure out how to get rid of it.
At the time, Oregon’s beaches were under the jurisdiction of the Oregon State Highway Division, the predecessor of today’s Oregon Department of Transportation.
So the dead whale became their problem.
And that’s where things got interesting.
The Plan: Dynamite
Officials considered their options.
Moving the enormous carcass wasn’t simple. Burying it presented problems. Letting it sit there wasn’t exactly appealing either.
Assistant District Highway Engineer George Thornton ultimately settled on a solution more commonly associated with removing a giant boulder:
Explosives.
The idea was that dynamite would break the whale into pieces small enough for seagulls, crabs and other scavengers to finish the cleanup.
About half a ton of dynamite was used.
What could possibly go wrong?
People Actually Came to Watch
By November 12, word had gotten around that officials were going to blow up the whale.
Naturally, people came to watch.
Spectators and reporters gathered at what they believed was a safe distance. Among the journalists were KATU reporter Paul Linnman and cameraman Doug Brazil.
The explosives were detonated that afternoon.
The whale exploded.
Technically, that part of the plan worked beautifully.
The problem was everything that happened next.
It Started Raining Whale
Instead of being reduced entirely to conveniently bite-sized pieces, enormous chunks of decomposing whale blubber were launched into the air.
Spectators started running as whale remains fell around them.
One particularly large piece traveled far enough to crush the roof of a nearby car.
Fortunately, no explosion-related injuries were reported.
And then there was the other problem.
A substantial portion of the whale was still sitting on the beach.
So after the dynamite, flying blubber, fleeing spectators and damaged automobile… the cleanup still wasn’t finished.
Problem solved.
…You clearly haven’t watched Ugly History before.
The Explosion That Refused to Die
If this had happened a few decades earlier, the story might have survived mostly as strange local folklore.
Unfortunately for everyone involved—and fortunately for the rest of us—there were cameras.
The news footage preserved the spectacle, and decades later the exploding whale became one of Oregon’s most famous historical mishaps.
All because somebody looked at eight tons of rotting whale and decided:
This seems like a job for dynamite.
History can be ugly.
But this? This was ridiculous.
Key Facts
- Event: Florence Whale Explosion
- Date: November 12, 1970
- Location: Near Florence, Oregon
- Animal: Sperm whale
- Length: Approximately 45 feet
- Weight: Approximately 8 tons
- Explosives: Approximately half a ton of dynamite
- Agency: Oregon State Highway Division
- Engineer: George Thornton