SEATTLE — Fifty years ago on Nov. 12, a piece of bizarre Pacific Northwest history was born – the exploding whale. The Exploding Whale footage was remastered for its 50th anniversary, Woman recreates dance she made as a child for Britney Spears', Donor heart immediately dropped by doctor after being recovered from crashed transport helicopter, Steve Kornacki breaks his brain trying not to say 'Big Dump' of votes, AI camera mistakes referee's bald head for soccer ball. And so he was. The Exploding Whale: And Other Remarkable Stories from the Evening News. As it … Bury it? The “Goonies” Cast Reunion: Coming to a Computer Near You December…, Santiam Forest, Abiqua Falls, Butte Creek Falls and Shellburg Falls To…, Gov. George Thornton's Death. On Thursday, Nov. 12, 1970, an event happened that put the town of Florence on the map. You’ll get to hear George Thornton say — this is a direct quote — “Well, I’m confident that it’ll work, the only thing is we’re not sure how much explosives it’ll take to disintigrate this thing …”, You’ll also get to hear the people on the beach watching the blast: yells of excitement turned to disgust, dull thumping sounds, and a woman saying, “OK, Fred, you can take your hands out of your ears now. The Disastrous exploding Whale of Florence, Oregon - YouTube Today is the 50th anniversary of the infamous Exploding Whale of Oregon incident of 1970. You blow it into a million stinky little whale pieces of course. On Thursday, Nov. 12, 1970, an event happened that put the town of Florence on the map. November 12, 1970 Exploding Whale No one knew what to do with an 8-ton dead whale, washed up on the beach, but there happened to be an ex-military guy around who had explosives training. But he couldn’t know how personally Thornton’s mistake would end up affecting him. Umenhofer, who still lives in Springfield, now owns and operates “The Baron’s Den,” a gun store and indoor shooting range just south of Eugene, visible from Interstate 5 (it usually sports a bright blue banner reading “SHOOT A REAL TOMMY GUN”). He tried to tell them that 20 sticks of dynamite would do it, if they were placed correctly. 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You might even have seen some pictures, but not these. By Tim Lantz, iHeart Media Nov 13, 2020. “What do you mean, ‘what went wrong?’” he asked Linnman tersely — apparently by way of implying that nothing had. A whale exploded in Oregon in 1970, and the story will blow... We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Anniversaries. FLORENCE, Ore. - A group of people plan to gather Monday afternoon on Heceta Beach to re-enact the events of November 12, 1970. Haliep/iStock via Getty Images (Whale) // revenaif/iStock via Getty Images (Explosion) The 75 or so people who had gathered on the shore just south of … In The Oxford Annual for Boys (Ed. The story was considered an urban legend by most people, though. ...a half-ton of dynamite was detonated under an 8-ton beached whale. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s pretty easy to wonder why he didn’t pull someone who knew explosives into the project, even if that someone was a know-it-all stranger with a brand-new Olds parked 450 yards away — a stranger like Walt Umenhofer, who got well away from the blast site himself but neglected to collect his car first. On the 50th anniversary of the “Florence whale explosion” Thursday, a former Oregon TV newsman recalled what it was like to cover the infamous event —… Unfortunately, he guessed wrong about how much dynamite would be needed. Well, another one at least. 5–18. “I says, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna be the furtherest SOB down that way!'”. Burn it? Mammalian marine guts spewed everywhere, raining down on townsfolk. Decades later, Thornton was still defiantly sanguine about the whole operation. The guy who warned Thornton about his plan? What The 1970 'Exploding Whale' Fiasco Has To Do With Coronavirus Here's why the Doncaster Council is tweeting about an exploding whale in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. More Exploding Whales. The dead whale had washed up on a beach near Florence in November, 1970. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. A Taxonomy of Cetacean Detonation. Herbert Strang), pp. Its passenger compartment had been flattened by a chunk of flying blubber the size of a small truck tire. Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company. Walt Umenhofer sure saw it coming. As it turns out, that was overkill. “But the guy says, ‘Anyway, I’m gonna have everyone on top of those dunes far away,'” Umenhofer told reporter Wayne Freedman of San Francisco TV station KGO in an interview 25 years later. HomeAdvisor decided to imagine what the Simpsons' interiors would look like if they were designed by Wes Anderson. Portland: West Winds Press, 2003, Portland woman paints Trump portrait with period blood, Oregon Explored: Roadtrip GoPro Video Captures The Best, Protected: Make Memories On The Oregon Coast This Holiday Season With Salishan Coastal Lodge, This Classic Steak House Is Oregon’s Longest Continuously Operating Restaurant, Stay Overnight At This Gorgeous Treehouse In Oregon, Newberry National Volcanic Monument Is An Oregon Gem You Must See, This Historic Haunted Hotel Sits On A Hot Spring And Is Expected To Reopen This November, Spend A Night At This Working 19th Century Lighthouse On The Stunning Oregon Coast. We feel it's hugely important to our local economy to still support local business and travel, please keep these places in mind for when this passes. On November 12, 1970, residents of the small town of Florence, Oregon witnessed a rare sight as an exploding whale sent chunks of meat and blubber soaring 100 feet into the sky. On November 12th, 1970, Oregon Highway Division officials used boxes of powerful explosives to get rid of a whale carcass that had washed up on shore near Florence, about three hours south of Portland. The person managing the Doncaster Council Twitter account posted a history lesson about the time that US officials blew up a decaying 7.3k kilogram (16.1k pound) sperm whale in Florence, Oregon, in 1970. A whale of a deal on a new Oldsmobile! On the day of the blast, he told reporter Larry Bacon of the Eugene Register-Guard, “It went just exactly right. He was a businessman who happened to be in town with his brand-new car, an Oldsmobile 88 Regency, which he later told Springfield News reporter Ben Raymond Lode that he’d bought days earlier at Dunham Oldsmobile in Eugene during a promotion taglined — no, really, I’m not kidding, this is true — “Get a Whale of a Deal on a New Oldsmobile.”. When he is not sharing all the best parts of Oregon online, he is out looking for a new place to explore. Florence, Ore., Mayor Joe Henry poses in front of the sign welcoming visitors to the Exploding Whale Memorial Park. This story was used with permission, and originally published here at OffBeatOregon.com. But today, almost 40 years later, even the crankiest among them chuckle about it — sometimes a bit wistfully. Learn more at a free Oregon Historical Society talk with the KATU reporter who was on the scene of the fated blubbery blast. The Exploding Whale Incident was a famous “epic fail” incident that happened in Florence, Oregon in 1970, when a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach. This is the story that some of you may know, which took place in Florence, Oregon about an inexperienced highway engineer who thought the most logical thing to do with the 8 tons of rotting whale carcass was to obliterate it. A quarter-mile away, cars were smashed with chunks of cetacean carcass. Finally, the highway patrol arrived. It's back. On Nov. 12, 1970, the Oregon Highway Division decided to remove an eight-ton sperm whale from a Florence beach by blowing it up with dynamite. Paul Linnman. Walt appears about two minutes into the video, standing next to his brand-new demolished Oldsmobile. The story was covered for KATU-2, one of the Portland TV stations, by Paul Linnman, then a fresh-faced young fellow in his mid-20s. The key to the look seems to be symmetry... Judging by how good she is at recreating it, clearly this woman does this dance every night before going to bed. If you've never seen it, you're either Amish or an infant. As one would expect given his young age, Linnman made a minor error reporting the story — assuming that it was a California Gray whale when it was actually a sperm whale — but in his book he more than makes up for it with one line, which you’ll find on Page 77: “Explosions in the movies usually look like a blast of fire and smoke; this one more resembled a mighty burst of tomato juice.” A mighty burst of tomato juice? The Exploding Whale. If you search for “exploding whale” on Google, you’ll find Linnman’s story, about two and a half minutes long. As the creature decomposed on the beach, a distinct smell wafted into town. Then sign up for our Newsletter and get Updates on Events, Places to Explore, Discounts, Giveaways and More! He knew project manager George Thornton was not going to get the results he wanted — he either needed a lot less dynamite, so that the whale would just be pushed out to sea, or a whole lot more, so that it would be torn into tiny pieces. November 12, 1970...one beach, one whale, and one very bad idea We really appreciate all the support and the donation, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! So, if you’ve never heard of the exploding whale incident of 1970, prepare to be amazed. Oregon's 'Exploding Whale' legend turns 50 50 years ago, we blew up a whale and it either went terribly, or very well depending on your perspective. And Thornton actually said, on camera, to Linnman, that he wasn’t sure how much dynamite he should be using. … Except the blast funneled a hole in the sand under the whale” (thereby causing some of the whale bits to be blown back toward the parking lot, he went on to say). Keep going for the gloriously remastered video in all its legendary glory. Umenhofer had received explosives training during his World War II service and what he saw on the beach that day made him very, very nervous. By Chas Hundley - Banks Post November 9, 2020 at 8:59am A mother sperm whale and her calf off the coast of Mauritius. ISBN 1-55868-743-2. In any event, the exploding whale — with the help of syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry, who had great fun with it — has become part of our entire nation’s pop culture and has been mistaken for an “urban legend.” Many Florence residents were not pleased — they felt this was the wrong way to get one’s hometown on the map. O’Brian, Patrick (1937). Today marks the 50th anniversary of the exploding beached whale incident that took place in Florence, Oregon on November 12, 1970 when highway patrol used way too much dynamite to remove a whale carcass. Soon after, a video clip went viral on the internet, long before "going viral on the internet" was even a thing. Down on townsfolk he should be using bit nauseous ton whale washes up shore... Sticks of dynamite to the impressive explosion and the donation, thank you the... 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exploding whale 1970

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