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On November 12, 1970, the sky cleared in Florence, Oregon,
There are some local citizens gathered on the nearby beach,
However, they are not coming to the beach because of the good weather, but there is a big thing about to happen here....
In addition to the onlookers, reporters, responsible personnel, etc. also rushed to the scene.
George Thornton, project manager at the Oregon Highway Bureau, said in an interview with a relaxed face:
"This time I'm confident I'll succeed. But there's a problem, we don't know how much explosives we need to blow this thing up, only to turn it into pieces, those scavengers, seagulls and crabs or whatever, to clean it up. ”
The interviewer was called Paul Linnman,
After hearing this answer, he chuckled in his heart and muttered to himself: I don't know how much explosives to use and how confident I can succeed?
So he changed his mind and asked the person in charge: "Is it possible that the explosion will last for several days?" ”
Manager Thornton was a little surprised, and after a moment's thought, he answered: "Uh, maybe, if there are any big chunks that haven't been blown up...".
When people think of blasting, they generally think of huge objects like mountains or buildings that have no life.
But this time, the object of the explosion was a sperm whale....
Three days ago, a 14-meter-long, 8-metric-ton sperm whale was washed up on the coast of Florence.
It was dead, huge corpses lying on the beach, black skin surface absorbing the winter sun, gushing out putrid gases, and the rich smell spread across the beaches and towns....
This piece of beach is under the jurisdiction of the Highway Authority, but no one knows what the correct answer to the thorny question of dealing with the sperm is.
After some discussion, the engineers decided that it was not feasible to simply bury the body in the sand, which was not only a huge amount of work, but also a lot of labor.
And in winter, storms often blow a lot of sand away, and the carcasses of sperm whales may resurface after a month or two, and they will become more decaying.
Worst of all, if the body moves up just a few meters from the surface of the sand, a person strolling on the beach is likely to inadvertently fall into it and then drown by the liquefied whale's guts.....
So, after consultation with the U.S. Navy,
They decided to dispose of the whale carcasses by blasting rocks, blowing them to smithereens, then throwing the pieces back into the sea, leaving the rest to be solved by the carrion-loving animals.
The plan was made, and the Highway Bureau quickly took action.
The thornton manager and the team dug a large hole in the sand under the sperm whale carcass,
Then 20 boxes of explosives weighing up to half a ton were stuffed in and ready to explode.
But then a man with an inch-like, military-looking man walked toward the Thornton manager.
This man was called Walter uemenhoefer, who had been trained in the army to handle explosives in large quantities.
He persuaded manager Thornton that it was wrong to use 20 boxes of explosives, it would only create chaos, and it would hurt people if it was not good.
If you want to solve the problem with explosives, either only 20 sticks are lit and the sperm whale is pushed back into the sea from the beach with the power of the explosion,
Either that would have to use far more than 20 boxes of explosives to completely crush the body.
But Thornton did not know him, nor did he take his words seriously,
Quickly sent this stranger away.....
After moving all the spectators on the beach to the dunes 400 meters away from the sperm whale, the personnel of the Highway Bureau lit the explosives,
Then, with a "bang",
Sand, whale fat, and blood mixed together and flew into the sky, 30 meters high.
Seeing such a spectacular scene, the audience on the beach erupted in exclamation...
However, this excitement did not last long,
The bodies and fat that were blown up were scattered all over the beach and the town, and everyone was drenched in a "putrid blubber rain",
What had been a cry of surprise turned into a scream of fear....
A mother-like woman first calmly said to the boy next to her:
"Well, fred, you can take your hand off your ear",
Immediately, her tone became frightened, "Look, a piece fell from the front -- aaaah!" ”
The stomach was followed by a turning river and a sea, and at the same time that the whale piece landed on the ground, she also spat it out.....
But in this explosion, the most unfortunate person is not this lady,
Remember the walt uemenhoefer that gave reliable advice earlier?
His new luxury car was smashed squarely by a refrigerator-sized whale chunk, the roof collapsed completely, and the glass was blown to pieces.....
He wanted to cry without tears: "If I said that a piece of whale meat that fell from the sky smashed my car, would the insurance company believe me?" ”
Fortunately, no one was harmed in the explosion,
Just wait for the smoke to clear,
It was found that the explosion failed very thoroughly.
The sperm whale was blown up only a small part, and most of its body was still lying on the beach intact....
The explosion was recorded by Paul Linnman reporters throughout the process,
He was witty in his report, first teasing himself:
"Exploding whale fat flying in unimaginable places...
The rookie reporter (land-lubber newsman) is now a land-blubber newsman."
Then he said in a long and serious tone at the end:
"In the future, whale strandings may still happen,
Officials will not forget anything other than remembering what should be done and what should not be done. ”
The agility of the Linnman reporter was constantly praised by later generations,
Someone else drew a comic for him:
Then again,
In the end, the remaining sperm whale carcass was buried by the workers....
By 1979, when 41 sperm whales ran aground and died on a beach south of Florence,
The officials also immediately chose to bury the body....
Now, exactly 50 years have passed since this legendary event took place.
But it can still easily get people's attention,
This TV story has more than 1 million views on YouTube,
And someone else made a 4k digital fix for it.
In 2020, when there are many strange things, "exploding whales" have been given a new meaning.
The Doncaster Parliament in the United Kingdom has linked this matter to the spread of the new crown virus.
Earnestly educate people:
First, don't ignore the advice given by experts who know what they're talking about;
Second, sometimes it's better to stay at home and do nothing than to go out and do a bunch of ridiculous things, and it's best to go with the flow.
Third, when you ignore expert advice and act like an idiot,
It's no different than pouring someone else's rancid blubber.
Stay home, don't be so selfish.
Such a statement has also been affirmed by the city of Florence,
It replied: "What can we all learn from the past!" ”
This summer, a new riverside park in Florence was heavily voted on.
Finally, there is a shiny new name - Exploding Whale Memorial Park!
Ms. Messmer, the person in charge, said they received a total of 856 votes, of which more than half (439) voted for the option of "Bombing Whale Memorial Park", while the others were "Bridgeview Park" and "Riverview Park", which are named after the nearby landscape.
In the park, visitors can put on blue doll costumes and dress up as whale flo,
It is also possible to visit the sculpture based on the blasted sperm whale,
You can also buy some peripherals and take them home as a souvenir,
Stickers
posters
"Not bloody at all, it's a lovely whale.
Now, Florence has a policy that all the bodies that are not easy to clean up should be buried.
We have learned our lessons. Ms. Messmer said.
A sperm whale that was "blown up" 50 years ago is still so talked about today,
It is also very legendary.....
ref：
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/13/oregon-whale-explosion-anniversary/
https://offbeatoregon.com/1608bt.exploding-whale.404.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/20/us/exploding-whale-memorial-park.html
https://www.boredpanda.com/coronavirus-comparison-exploding-sperm-whale-doncaster-council/
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