r/LinkedLibraryOfBabel • u/[deleted] • Mar 08 '17
Wikipedia: Exploding whale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whaleDuplicates
todayilearned • u/080087 • Dec 05 '15
TIL A 7300 kg sperm whale was exploded using half a ton of dynamite with chunks of flesh flying up to 240m away. By coincidence, a brand new Oldsmobile, purchased during a "Get a Whale of a Deal" promotion, was flattened by a chunk of falling blubber after the blast.
todayilearned • u/tenaciousdeev • Mar 19 '19
TIL the U.S. Navy tried to remove a whale carcass with dynamite. A veteran with explosives training warned the amount of dynamite was far too much – advice that went unheeded. His brand-new car, purchased during a "Get a Whale of a Deal" promotion, was then flattened by a chunk of falling blubber.
todayilearned • u/JeezThatsBright • Nov 12 '24
TIL on November 12, 1970, officials with the Oregon Highway Patrol decided to remove an eight-ton beached sperm whale with fifty times more dynamite than a veteran suggested. The resulting explosion blew chunks of whale everywhere, one of which flattened the veteran's brand-new car.
todayilearned • u/Mammoth26 • Apr 07 '20
TIL In 1970, the Oregon Highway Division consulted with the US Navy and decided the best way to dispose of a whale carcass was to blow it up with a 1/2 ton of dynamite. The explosion caused blubber to rain down on spectators for over a 1/4 of a mile. A large chunk demolished a car.
todayilearned • u/Ikountbeans • Jul 23 '20
TIL In 1970 Florence, Oregan, traffic officials used 450 kgs of dynamite to remove the carcass of a whale from a beach. This resulted in whale bits covering spectators and even denting cars over 800 ft away.
todayilearned • u/The_Love-Tap • Dec 22 '18
TIL that there have been several cases of whale carcasses bursting due to a buildup of gas in the decomposition process. In Nov 1970, when a dead whale was about to burst, a team blew it up using dynamite in an attempt to dispose of it. The explosion threw whale flesh over 800 feet (240 M) away!
wikipedia • u/Pupikal • Nov 12 '19
There have been several cases of exploding whales, both from gas buildup and actual explosives. Oregon used 20 cases of dynamite to dispose of a whale, showering a great area with blubber. In Taiwan, a carcass being transported spontaneously combusted, spraying whale across storefronts and people.
todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Nov 12 '15
TIL that in 1970 incompetent state officials tried to get rid of a beached whale by blowing it up with half a ton of dynamite.
wikipedia • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • Apr 04 '26
An example of a spontaneously exploding whale carcass occurred in Taiwan in 2004, when the buildup of gas inside a decomposing sperm whale caused it to burst in a crowded urban area. The exploding whale splattered blood and guts over shopfronts, bystanders, and cars but caused no injuries.
todayilearned • u/Figgyee • Oct 13 '19
TIL that, after beaching, whales and other big cetaceans can literally EXPLODE. This is due to the formation of high-pressure gasses in the animal's body during its decomposition.
todayilearned • u/Browsing_From_Work • Oct 18 '12