"Exploding whale will be remembered..."

Exploding whale will be remembered like men on the moon, says humorist Dave Barry

By KATU Staff

The spectacle of the state of Oregon blowing up a dead whale on a beach in Florence 50 years ago is known worldwide.

It’s estimated the video shot by KATU photographer Doug Brazil and reported on by KATU’s former reporter and anchor Paul Linnman has been viewed upward of 350 million times.

But it may not have become the phenomenon that it is today without the help of humor columnist Dave Barry.

In 1990, 20 years after it happened, Barry wrote an article about the event and the story absolutely exploded.

“Yeah, I will take pride forever. This is probably the most significant accomplishment that I have -- not that I had anything to do with it other than noticing it, but this will never be forgotten,” he told KATU in a recent interview. “There’s Pearl harbor, Mount Everest, Panama Canal, there's landing men on the moon, and there’s the whale on the beach in Oregon. These are moments humanity will never forget.”

He says it’s the most wonderful thing he’s ever written about.