Oregon Park Named After Legendary 'Exploding Whale' Incident. The naming of the park in Oregon, however, is not an internet-fueled fluke: Ms. Messmer said most residents are excited about the park’s name. The 1970 blast was a lesson learned for Oregon: There is now a policy to bury carcasses that can’t be removed easily, Ms. Messmer said. Another whale explosion occurred on January 29, 2004, in Tainan City, Taiwan. It's celebrated as an odd learning lesson in how not to deal with certain situations, something that the state government didn't quite learn with the New Carissa incident. The episode also found renewed relevance recently as a town in northern England used the blubber-coated bystanders in Oregon as a lesson to its residents about the coronavirus: “Sometimes, it’s better to just sit at home and do nothing than go outside and do something ridiculous,” it said on Twitter. The explosion instead spewed large chunks of decayed whale on curious bystanders, and even crushed a nearby parked car. As a Washingtonian, I'm glad to see Oregon lean into this one. Wasn't the New Carissa the ship they tried to sink to become a reef, but it got stuck on a sand bar and had to be towed further out half sunk to get it out of the way of shipping lanes? Rather than put the escapade behind them, Florence residents voted to dedicate a park after the 1970 blast, choosing “Exploding Whale Memorial Park” as the name for the recreational area in the city, which is about 130 miles southwest of Portland. Blow it into a million pieces, and in 3 days the seagulls and crabs will have eaten every last piece. Exploding Whale Memorial Park opens near site where that beached whale was blown up in 1970. This year’s theme was supposed to be “Blast From the Past.”. That brings back memories. Jo Beaudreau, the owner of an art supply store and the designer of the park’s sign, said the explosion is “still a little bit of a touchy subject” for residents, especially those who were involved in the blast. Highly recommended! By Tim Binnall. "Exploding Whale Memorial Park" in Florence, Oregon, is named for the explosive event of Nov. 12, 1970, when local officials blew up a beached and decomposing sperm whale … The news footage of this was among the first viral videos. Tainan City, Taiwan. Just listened to this episode again with a friend at work 2 days ago! I guess literally just "crushed by whale"? Press J to jump to the feed. By Bryan Pietsch June 20, 2020 Fifty years ago, a whale carcass washed ashore near Florence, Ore., and the authorities wrestled with how to get rid of it. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts.

The article is pretty delightful, too - brought me right back to watching the video in 9th grade science class. Other ideas were “Bridge View Park” and “Siuslaw River View Park” for nearby landmarks. You had to download the .mov file for an hour or more, then watch it. At least, it makes my mom giggle still. visit /r/inthenews. It was the people of Florence who picked the name Exploding Whale Memorial Park. Haven't thought about that since I was a kid, so I'm probably wrong... /r/news is: real news articles, primarily but not exclusively, news relating to the United States and the rest of the World. The park, as well as the 50th anniversary of the blast, was originally set to be celebrated at the city’s “Rhody Days” in May, but the Rhododendron Festival was canceled because of the coronavirus. So, state highway officials decided to use a half-ton of dynamite to blow up the 45-foot sperm whale, hoping its disintegrated matter would be whisked away by sea gulls.