American humorist Dave Barry wrote about it in his newspaper column in 1990 after viewing television footage of the explosion, and later the same footage from news station KATU circulated on the Internet. The explosion threw whale flesh around 800 feet (240 metres) away, and its odor lingered for some time. It was reported as early as 1928, when an attempt to preserve a carcass failed due to faulty chemical usages.Ī widely reported case of an exploding whale occurred in Florence, Oregon, in November 1970, when the Oregon Highway Division (now the Oregon Department of Transportation) blew up a decaying sperm whale with dynamite in an attempt to dispose of its rotting carcass. Actual explosives have also been used to assist in disposing of whale carcasses, ordinarily after towing the carcass out to sea, and as part of a beach cleaning effort. This would occur if a whale decides to strand itself ashore. There have been several cases of exploding whale carcasses due to a buildup of gas in the decomposition process.

This screen capture comes from a 4K resolution remaster of the original 16 mm film source, released to commemorate the footage's 50th anniversary. Filmed by the news station KATU, it became among the most widely-reported cases of exploding whales. Explosion of a whale using a dynamite in Florence, Oregon in 1970.

Exploding whale