On this day in 1970. The exploding Whale!

[SteelBlue]

State government had to deal with a massive, dead, beached whale in Florence, Oregon. The problem was that the smell was driving tourists away and an animal that size wasn't going to rot slowly. So it was decided to blow the beast to smithereens using dynamite. I give you vintage footage of the wondrous event. It is worth watching the whole thing but if you're the impatient sort, skip to 1:30. The idea, of course, is now a famous failure but for a few shining moments it really looked like the plan was going to work. Enjoy!

[YOUTUBE]1_t44siFyb4[/YOUTUBE]

[Maximus]

So what would the solution be nowadays?

[Indy Coug]

Nuke Willy!

[Commando]

So what would the solution be nowadays?

You'd think they'd have some sort of bacteria they could spray on there that would assist in eating that thing up.... maybe spray it with lye or use a tugboat to drag the carcass out to sea and then sink it? Anything but the dumb ass thing they ended up doing.

[TripletDaddy]

couldn't they bring in a tugboat at high tide and just drag that thing out?

[Coach McGuirk]

Reno 911: Miami!

[Clark Addison]

So what would the solution be nowadays?

Hopefully, the exact same thing.

[dabrockster]

You think Speilberg would of done his homework for JAWS on this... The whole blowing up JAWS has new meaning now..

[YOUTUBE]DAd8tCvtne8&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

[UtahDan]

Awesome. Now I want to know what else you have marked on your calendar, SB.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

So what would the solution be nowadays?

Probably not blowing up the whale and causing some blubber chunks weighing hundreds of pounds to fly hundreds of feet in the air that could fall and kill someone on the ground.

Now, they'd probably have a few guys grab some chain saws and cut it up and then have some heavy machinery pick up the pieces and drop them into some dump trucks and haul it off somewhere.

[Commando]

Probably not blowing up the whale and causing some blubber chunks weighing hundreds of pounds to fly hundreds of feet in the air that could fall and kill someone on the ground.

Now, they'd probably have a few guys grab some chain saws and cut it up and then have some heavy machinery pick up the pieces and drop them into some dump trucks and haul it off somewhere.

Mike Rowe would definitely be involved somehow.

[LiveCoug]

One of my favorite strange story vids ever.

[Lost Student]

I remember downloading this video from my dorm room my freshman year at BYU. Coming from dial-up Internet at my parents' home, I was very impressed with the >500 kb/s download speed. Also impressed with the exploding whale.

[San Juan Sun]

I liked how the dynamite was transported like a cord of wood, just stacked in that tractor haphazardly. I also liked that children were roaming around while the dynamite was being placed.

There's no way this would ever, ever fly in 2010 America (much to my disappointment).

[il Padrino Ute]

That video is more awesome each time I see it.