The Exploding Whale of Oregon: A Dynamite Solution Gone Wrong

In November 1970, a 45-foot sperm whale washed ashore near Florence, Oregon. To deal with the massive, decomposing carcass, authorities decided to use dynamite, hoping the explosion would disintegrate the whale and allow scavengers to clean up the remains. However, the explosion was far more powerful than anticipated. Chunks of whale blubber rained down over a wide area, damaging cars and buildings, and the beach was left strewn with large pieces of the whale.

The incident became a cautionary tale about the unpredictability of using explosives for such purposes and remains a humorous, if grotesque, footnote in Oregon’s history.