Oregon Blew Up a Whale With Dynamite. It Did Not Go as Planned.

On November 12, 1970, an eight-ton sperm whale washed ashore near Florence, Oregon. It was dead. It was decomposing. And it was not going to move itself.

The Oregon Highway Division was responsible for the beach. They needed the whale gone. Burying it would take too long. Cutting it apart was too unpleasant. Someone suggested dynamite.

The Expert They Ignored

George Thornton, the highway engineer in charge, decided to use 20 cases of dynamite, approximately half a ton of explosives. The idea was to blast the whale into small enough pieces that seagulls and crabs would clean up the rest.

A Vietnam-era explosives veteran named Walter Umenhofer happened to be on the beach. He told the engineers they were using far too much dynamite. He suggested 20 sticks, not 20 cases.

They ignored him.

The Detonation

The blast was spectacular. Chunks of whale blubber, some the size of small cars, were launched up to 800 feet in every direction. Spectators who had gathered a quarter mile away were pelted with rancid whale flesh.

One massive piece of blubber landed directly on a brand new Oldsmobile Regency 98 in the parking lot, crushing the roof completely flat.

The Punchline

The car belonged to Walter Umenhofer. The man who had warned them. He had just purchased it from a dealership that was running a promotional sale called "Whale of a Deal."

Most of the whale remained intact on the beach. The Highway Division had to finish the job with shovels.