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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
- … and more!
All of these videos, plus additional exploding whale-related videos, are available at TheExplodingWhale.com video portal on ![[YouTube]](/wordpress/wp-content/youtubesm.jpg)
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After watching the video, leave us a comment below or on the site feedback page!
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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.
May 7th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
what happened to that cool little exploding-whale graphic?
March 28th, 2013 at 9:58 pm
Does this still happen?
January 16th, 2013 at 10:27 am
This is absolutely hilarious!! Live and learn, I guess huh?? hahaha
October 23rd, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Love the video haha!
October 20th, 2012 at 7:54 pm
I love one pages sites…. it’s just more convenient
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Funny videos , nice
September 23rd, 2012 at 7:37 pm
I think the idea to blow the whale is quite annoying. How can you just blow a living creature so painlessly. It is funny at the same time very annoying also.
July 26th, 2012 at 8:12 am
I agree with Paintless.. The things we humans used to do!
June 23rd, 2012 at 5:09 am
We sure have come along way since the 1970′s and how we dispose of things, now they just take a crane and take it and bury it in the nearest land fill.
May 16th, 2012 at 10:57 am
The absolute stupidity of the decision to blow this thing up sadly puts a smile on my face and annoys me to no end, both at the same time.
April 17th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
@Rattie- Um Yea “darvin” awards……..
In hindsight they should have used a nuke…… *nod nod*
April 8th, 2012 at 1:23 am
darvin awards!
April 3rd, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Is doug brazil still alive?
Editor: I believe so. At least he was in November 2010 for this interview.
March 20th, 2012 at 3:15 am
This certainly explains what happened in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where the probability drive caused a whale to appear mid-air, before plunging to the ground and exploding. And I am not making that up. :0)
March 19th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
move a whale is difficult, but I wonder … that’s the only thing they can do to move out of the way?
truth this video is not very nice to see.
December 30th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
this is the funniest shit i ever seen…lol
September 12th, 2011 at 11:13 am
That’s a big blast. That poor whale just blown up to pieces. Extremely disgusting and gross.
May 6th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Reminds me of the other day when it rained cheesesteaks and pretzels here in South Philly.
March 26th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
I would have loved to see the blubber hit someone in the face. Ha Ha this was great. This is how we should operate in today’s society. We should blow up prisons and do some pest control.
Thank you for this.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
To Don,
Although not explained in detail in the original story, the “morons’ was the Oregon State Highway Division who were advised that anything dead and of this size would eventually end up back on the beach as it was too big and dead for most scavengers to be interested.
There was a more massive whale beaching years later and the Division chose to bury and burn them.
Towing out to sea even at that point was still considered, well, moronic.
January 15th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Well, that was interesting. What I found even more interesting & humorous is that they blew it up in the first place, rather than using a tugboat & a cable to tow the carcass out to deep sea where other critters would eat it for dinner. Eh, hello? What a bunch of pot headed or air headed morons. LOL, so they still had to bury a couple of large pieces, they now had smaller pieces all over the place & the poor citizens car got smashed. There were so many idiots back in the ’70′s. I wonder if they would do that today. Hmmm….considering some of the really stupid things I’ve seen people do in other areas of endeavor, it wouldn’t surprise me. Oh well, Jamie, I agree that whales are beautiful & amazing creatures alive, but, I agree w/ KC that when they are a dead carcass, then they are fertilizer, food or trash that rots away like everyone else. I think most people would agree & keep in perspective. I have seen people on the beach & ships stop everything & just gather in absolute awe when they see a whale(s) break the surface for a while. People are just ecstatic & the overwhelming majority love animals. It’s the very few who mistreat animals & even the many fishermen/hunters I’ve met are interested in making the capture or death as quick as possible & then eating the critter. There needs to be balance in all things, including consumption of wildlife, otherwise the animals overpopulate & cause their own problems.
January 7th, 2011 at 2:59 am
I found a whale lying next to me in my bed this morning. Imagine my surprise when I remembered that it was my wife! I told her about this and she literally exploded!
October 17th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Hey Travis since that’s a good idea you got about taking it to Hollywood but why waste a good dead whale when you would have more tonnage with Rosie O’Donnell or Mike Moore
July 15th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
To Jamie: It’s a DEAD animal. For the love of god, grow a sense of humor please.
July 11th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Hands down the funniest thing ever commited to film!
Hollywood needs to add more exploding whales to its films,that would surely pack the theatres.
Hey…maybe some smart producer will make a feature film based on this event!
Clint Eastwood could star as the head of the dept. of transportation who secretly has an intense hatred of whales
after having to do a book report on Moby Dick scarred him for life.
Many thanks to the folks here at Exploding Whale . com for allowing this video to bring a smile to the face of a whole new generation who werent lucky enought to witness the sheer majesty of a rotting whale being propelled into the stratosphere by good ‘ol dynamite!
July 11th, 2010 at 11:15 am
This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!
I cant believe all the pansys out there whining about this “beautiful animal” being blown to hell.
Whats beautiful about a *rotting sperm whale*??
I am truly saddened by the fact that this will probably never happen again,this is one of lifes funniest and most enjoyable moments in history!
I would have it mandatory that all beached whales must be blown up,and that the public can freely come and enjoy the spectacle.
Just imagine the wonderfull memories you’d have reliving this beautiful scene with your children time and time again!
What better way to spend the weekend that parked in the sand with an umbrella and box of popcorn waiting gleefull for the countdown that will disintegrate such a large eyesore for good!
June 27th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
I was disgusted by this video. How is it funny or humorous to watch a beautiful animal blown to pieces. I could not believe the way people were responding to this video.
April 30th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I read the original story of this event back in the early seventies. I could swear it first appeared in Sports Illustrated. People tend to ridcule here in the comments but at the time blowing it up seemed like the best idea becase it was putrifying on the beach. I think some details are missing here from the original. So maybe this website doesn’t do it justice. It must have been a heck of a scene that morning with rancid, putrified atomized blubber being blown like a misty seabreeze!
March 30th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Reminds me of all the idiot officials currently in charge of fixing the salmon problem on the Columbia river. The government always fumbles when it comes to what they don’t understand: wildlife. “Hey our fishing industry has put salmon on the threatened species list.. lets kill 85 sea lions and hope that works to restore the salmon to the millions-thick population we once enjoyed on the river!!” Idiots. Morons. Designers of ecological devestation!
March 8th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Oh my gosh…after reading all those comments, I KNOW I’m not weird for laughing about this so much. Thanks for the site!
January 20th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Absolutely NOTHING beats Stacey Keach’s narration of the event when he did World’s Most Amazing Video’s #6 in 1999 and this was the Main Event Finale of the show!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 8:02 am
My colleague and friend Dr. Heinrik von Steel, Attorney at Law, shares a deep-seated fascination with post-mortem whale explosion with me. If only I could witness this phenomenon first hand. My life would be complete.
With the utmost sincerity,
Dr. Yox Tyrannosaur, Attorney at Law
January 12th, 2010 at 7:59 am
I first heard about this explosive phenomenon on the Dick Daveson Show, which premiered on HGTV on the first of December. Stunned by the natural magnificence of whale explosion, I decided to investigate the matter further. This brought me to your terrific website. As long as I live, I will always cherish post-mortem whale explosion.
Truly,
Dr. Heinrik von Steel, Attorney at Law
January 7th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I first heard of this incident through several mentions in columns by humorist Dave Barry. It occurred to me today: ‘Something this stupid has got to be on video on the Internet. In fact it’s so stupid, there’s got to be a whole website about it.” Sure enough. Thanks for perpetuating the poignant plot for posterity and blatantly blogging the blubbery blast.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:35 am
We don’t need no Stink’in whales!
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
LOL this is GREAT!!! I loved the commentator….
November 5th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Whales! Some people love them, others hate them. Whatever your stance, we at Kill The Whales are eager to hear your views on how to deal with the Cetacean problem plaguing our oceans. Please check us out at
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=321009020446
October 15th, 2009 at 4:13 am
my whales just fine
July 18th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I like how the whole community got together to solve this problem.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Ha! This whale event was in my hometown!
May 19th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
It’s so funny to me that ODOT was in charge of this whole operation. I can’t believe they didn’t use their heads on this one. But, I suppose if it didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have something to laugh at all these years later. ROFL!
May 1st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
When i go, i want to be ‘disseminated’ like that too!
But send my body to Osama first. Tell him “look, another infidel you defied.”, then ‘boom’!
March 4th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
This is the most beautiful hymn to human stupidity in the whole world. Melts my heart to see how brilliantly stupid one can be. I am shedding tears of joy.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Why was the highway department taking care of a beached whale…?
Yay for the laws of physics at work!!!
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I was recovering of a maxilar operation with more than 20 stitches in my mouth, watching tv with my wife and suddenly the dummiest videos showed and the exploding whale came to my eyes and I laughed so much that some stiches broke, we could not even change the channel because we were laughing so much that we could not even breathe and our stomach hurt and they repeat the video and had to visit the dentist again.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Smart… S.M.R.T
December 13th, 2008 at 2:07 am
This is the funniest video I have ever seen. If you ever have seen the movie “Reno 911: Miami” there is a part of the movie that is based on this situation lol.
December 8th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
How do you explain this to your car insurance? “no sir I was not driving drunk, a piece of exploding whale made that dent”.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:42 am
I’m going to the beach for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I always watch this video before I go. Oh Oregon coast, what rotting carcasses won’t wash up on you?
November 12th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Ah, the conservationists of OR. Even Mom & GayLynne will smile about this one.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
This is absolutely the strangest video I’ve ever watched. I cannot even begin to imagine what it would’ve been like to be covered in whale bits. I imagine that smell took some serious bathing to remove. Whose brainiac idea was this anyway? Hilarious!
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. [...]