The Exploding Whale: An infamous moment in Oregon history creates a strangely beloved icon

The infamous exploding whale incident occurred Nov. 12, 1970, in Florence, Oregon. A whale washed ashore on the Oregon beach and with no other means to dispose of it, officials came up with a plan to blow the whale up. The result? Whale carcass all over the local beach.

The Oregon Historical Society, for the exploding whale's 50th anniversary, arranged a 4K transfer of the original raw film footage from their archive. KATU 2 News re-edited the video from the new high resolution material for our viewers.

_______________
Stay up to date with our social media:

Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:

Call the Newsroom: 503.231.4222

KATU is a OR based station and a ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today.

#KATU #Katu2abc #Portland

[randysetzer]

“It couldn’t be cut up, because no body wanted to cut it up”

Pure poetry

[rossington-x]

I thought the whale was going to unexpectedly explode a bit from gases, I wasn't expecting them to blast the crap out of it.

[ideasonscribe]

"The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds."

Give that man a raise.

[maxita]

It was a CLASSIC even before Youtube was born.
Things that must be remembered 🙂

[opedromagico]

I loved how they thought exploding a whale with dynamite with parents and children watching would be a good idea.. the good old days.

[powderedwater]

"The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds." Now that's journalism.

[GenScinmore]

Ever since then beached whales began exploding on their own

[RadagonTheRed]

3:04 - “no respectable seagull”

I love the thought that there are seagulls who are completely undeserving of respect.

[aus]

That's the most American thing ever.

[spacekrill]

This feels like a Monty Python sketch.
The absurd premise, the matter-of-fact delivery of the lines, and the bits of dry humor sprinkled throughout.
Magnificent.

[MixRedo]

This feels like a Monty Python sketch, it's so surreal.

[opalishmoth]

I’ve watched this a few dozen times and only now did I process the fact it was the Oregon State Highway Division that was tasked with dealing with the whale.
I was too distracted by the “whale explosion” bit and the top-tier reporting to notice the detail about which government agency was responsible for the mess.
But my word, it’s my favorite detail now.
They didn’t call a government agency that worked with animals or on the coast / ocean.
No, this matter clearly falls into the scope of highway division

[Nightmareioo]

Imagine just casually walking by and a piece of whale just slaps you unconscious.

[lucascunha]

I love the way he says “it can’t be buried, can’t be cut and can’t be burned, so dynamite it is” as if it’s the most common thing ever.

[Androly_San]

The commentary by the reporter is absolute gold!

[mathematicalfelony]

My high school physics teacher played this for us in class one day, presumably for educational purposes, and it became an instat hit among my friend group. We still quote "and so dynamite it was" 4 years later

[MountainBeastMysteries]

This is exactly what the internet was meant for.

[LUCKYYP]

I lived in this part of Oregon for almost 20 years and the exploding whale story is one everyone in the area knows. Good times

[ecs]

This is the single greatest piece of journalism ever covered.

[Brave_Sir_Robin]

“All right Fred, you can take your hands out of your ears” I have no idea why but this always sends me 😂