On November 12, 1970, a whale blowed up real good on the Oregon coast.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Dennis Donovan

Thu Nov 12, 2020: 50 Years Ago Today; Dead whale removal goes horribly wrong in Oregon 🐳 💥

Popehat Retweeted

#OTD in 1970, the Oregon Highway Division consulted with the U.S. 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. The TV segment is classic.

A five-foot chunk of the whale hit a new Oldsmobile that spectator Walter Umenhofer had bought at a dealer's "whale of a deal" promotion. Due to the physical damage and the smell that permeated the car, insurance covered the full retail value of the Olds.

Link to tweet

[calimary]

1. Sheesh!

I guess that would qualify as an “act of God”.

[PSPS]

2. Did Billy Sol Hurok cover this too?

Maybe he was still working the fields back then.

[twodogsbarking]

3. George Costanza could have saved it.

[bahboo]

4. a classic moment of dumbassery....

[brush]

5. Well, that was dumb. How could they think that would work?