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About this page…
The original footage of the exploding whale first appeared on KATU Channel 2 Portland, OR in November 1970. The story was reported by Paul Linnman, and the cameraman was Doug Brazil.
Since then, the story has been retold countless times, and numerous versions of the original news story have appeared on the internet as a result. Several of them are viewable in the YouTube player on this page. For even more exploding whale-related videos, please visit TheExplodingWhale.com’s video portal on YouTube.
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Press one of the “Play” buttons to start the first video. Or, press the “Video Selector” button to choose a specific version of the video. |
The YouTube player above will take you through the following versions of the video in order:
- 1970 KATU (original report)
- 2002 KATU (abridged update)
- 2004(?) TechTV (highly abridged)
- 2008 CNN’s News To Me
All of these videos, plus additional exploding whale-related videos, are available at TheExplodingWhale.com video portal on ![[YouTube]](/wp-content/youtubesm.jpg)
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After watching the video, leave us a comment below or on the site feedback page!
- If all else fails, you can read the annotated transcript of the original newsreel.
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- Physical copies of the video (e.g., on VHS or DVD) are not available under any circumstances. Don’t bother asking.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:32 am
I heard about the incident just before I moved to Oregon in the wow farout groovy early 70’s. It was just meant to be. The whale was very, very dead when it beached….that was the problem…you could smell it for miles around. The video still makes me smile - everytime.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:51 am
And they’re going to get rid of that satellite by blowing it up. Hummmmm
February 12th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
that was TOTALLY AWSOME !!!
February 8th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I just love this story. First came to light in a Libertarian newsletter that I found circulating 20 years ago. Then someone sent me a copy of a local newscast going over the anniversary of the event. It was absolutely hilarious. The news anchors were laughing so hard after the report aired they could hardly speak. If I ever find that version of the story I’ll send it to you as it really is the best of all of the exploding whale videos I’ve ever seen.
February 7th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
COOOOOOoOOOOOOOOoOOOOOOoOOOOL!!!
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Our biology lecturer showed us this video, I can’t quite remember why right now…?!
“Of course, being American, they decided to blow it up!”
I just think “Cooooool”.
December 10th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
This seems silly, but I am sure it is not the worst thing the Oregon Dept. of Transportation has done… all you Oregonians out there know it
December 6th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
My daughter took me to Florence a while back…..found this story and just watched the news cast……..what a story……..why did the whale beach itself???? Would it have been handled differently now??? Lots of unanswered questions???? Things that make you go hmmmmmmm
November 12th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Happy exploding whale day! (which would make a good name for a rock band) In honor of this historic event, invite some friends over. Light the grill and blow up some hot dogs, or go out and eat sushi ’till ya puke. This year, I’ll be ceremonially destroying a ‘68 Mercury sedan.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
the exploding whale is perhaps the single most incredible thing i’ve ever seen. my only regret is that i hadn’t been there. or born yet. exploding whale rules!!!
August 17th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
its raining whale halaluah its raining whale halaluah its raining whale halaluah its raining whale halaluah its raining whale halaluah its raining whale
July 24th, 2007 at 9:31 am
I tried all the troubleshooting links and all the alternative download sites and I was unable to view the video. I fine the article and ignorance facinating and was interested in seeing the actual footage. I’m almost embarrased to say I’m an Oregonian Webfoot - born and bred!
July 19th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
[...] 3) I have not, and never will (God willing and the creek don’t rise), ever read Moby Dick. F__k you, whale. I don’t give a tinker’s damn what happens to your sorry ass. [...]
November 18th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
[...] What to do when a dead whale washes up on your shore? Well, you could blow it up. But we all remember how that ended up, don’t we? In case you have forgotten Click Here to go to a page that has the video from 1970. Okay, so blowing it up doesn’t work, so now what? How about sinking it with 3 tons of train wheels attached to it? Yeah, that’s the ticket Confronted with a rotting whale carcass on the beach in 1970, officials in Florence, Ore., hauled in 20 cases of dynamite and lit the fuse. [...]
July 24th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
[...] While sifting through some old emails, Wolf reminded me of the story of the whale that exploded in the street of Tainan, Taiwan. Which inevitably brings up that old story about the whale that they dynamited, somewhat unsuccessfully, 35 years ago in Florence, Oregon. There is now a website dedicated to exploding whales, and other exploding things. [...]
July 7th, 2006 at 1:28 am
[...] Das Resultat, nämlich einige Tonnen fliegenden Walglibbers, ist in diesem Video festgehalten. Auch recht amüsant zu lesen ist die dazugehörige Homepage, auf der man viele weiterführende Links zu dieser wahren Geschichte finden kann. [...]
March 19th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
[...] In case you’ve ever wondered what it would look like . . . Yes, a municipality tried it. And, of course, the local news videotaped it. [...]