The Exploding Whale of 1970: Oregon’s Infamous Beach Blunder

On November 12, 1970, residents of Florence, Oregon witnessed one of the most absurd public works experiments in American history. Faced with the rotting carcass of a 45-foot, 8-ton sperm whale on the beach, highway officials made a drastic decision: use dynamite to blow it up. The goal was to vaporize the whale into pieces small enough for seagulls to eat. What happened instead has become the stuff of legend.

The Setup

The Oregon Highway Division, which was technically in charge of the beach at the time, was tasked with removing the whale. Burning it was impractical, burying it was difficult due to the tide and size, and hauling it away was too expensive. So, explosives experts determined that 20 cases of dynamite — roughly 1,000 pounds — would do the trick.

The Blast

Local news crews, curious onlookers, and unsuspecting residents gathered nearby to witness the spectacle. When the explosives were detonated, the blast launched huge chunks of blubber into the sky. Some fragments landed hundreds of feet away, flattening a car and terrifying the crowd. Instead of cleaning up the whale, the explosion turned the beach into a grisly mess.

What Went Wrong?

Mistake	Consequence
Overestimation of dynamite’s dispersal effect	Large chunks of whale meat rained down
Insufficient crowd control	People and vehicles were hit by falling debris
Misjudged cleanup plan	Much of the whale remained on the beach

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