The Daily Populous Friday June 7th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by katu.com and submitted by Sweet-Berry-Wiine

The dead humpback whale that washed up on Nehalem State Park after it was hit and killed by a boat will NOT be blown up, Oregon State Parks has clarified.

"History isn't repeating itself," the agency says.

OSP says that a recent social media post making the rounds was claiming that they were going to blow up the beached whale later in June.

This rumor was likely a reference to the infamous "Exploding Whale" from 1970, an incident that achieved worldwide notoriety after it was filmed and reported on by KATU.

On Nov. 9, 1970, a 45-foot sperm whale had washed up on the beach near Florence, but as KATU reporter Paul Linnman noted at the time, it later became "a stinking whale of a problem."

Three days later, on Nov. 12, the dead whale exploded into history with what has been described as the first-ever viral news story.

The Oregon Highway Division tried to dispose of the carcass by loading it down with dynamite and letting it rip... but instead of neatly disintegrating the dead animal, a massive explosion took place - raining down rotting whale and blubber across the beach, spectators, and their cars.

The whale's spectacular end has since become an in-joke and pop culture reference among Oregonians, with explosion often being thrown around as a suggested fix for any dead sea creatures, a Eugene baseball team announcing an alternate name of "Exploding Whales," and multiple songs penned about the legendary marine mammal.

However, the unfortunate Nehalem humpback will not be meeting the same skyward fate.

"A necropsy on the humpback whale that washed ashore on the North Coast in late May combined with natural decomposition has left nothing but an unrecognizable blob and a horrible stench," Oregon State Parks said on social media.

"Our guess is no one wants to see it or smell it."

On a more serious note, the agency says that the area surrounding the dead whale is a snowy plover management area, which is being trampled by whale spectators.

"The birds are trying to nest and hordes of people traipsing through their area causes the nests to fail.

No one wants this to happen. Don’t go there, please."

OSP also provided a photo of the decayed remains of the whale, which are quite graphic and can be seen below:

So there you have it. If you need your Exploding Whale fix, you can just watch the video.

amo1337 on June 7th, 2024 at 11:58 UTC »

We had one recently wash up on the East coast and that's where everyone's mind went immediately. First they tried to tow it out to sea, only for it to wash back up in the same spot. They finally buried it in the sand with an excavator.

Clutz on June 7th, 2024 at 11:56 UTC »

Cowards!

SN0WFAKER on June 7th, 2024 at 11:16 UTC »

Come on, we want the boom.