Oregon regrettably exploded an 8-ton whale carcass 50 years ago, using 20 cases of TNT. Watch.

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/KATU)

Oregon highway workers had to find a way to dispose of the rotting carcass of a 45-foot-long, eight ton whale in Florence, the closest beach town to Eugene, on Nov. 12, 1970. They decided to obliterate it using 20 cases — half a ton — of dynamite. "The hope was that the long-dead Pacific gray whale would be almost disintegrated by the blast, and that any small pieces still around after the explosion would be taken care of by seagulls and other scavengers," explained KATU's Paul Linnman, in what New York Times reporter Mike Baker calls "surely one of the greatest local TV news segments of the century." And not because things went as planned. Watch below. Peter Weber

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.