When a whale dies in the ocean, an ecosystem grows around its sunken carcass. It’s an epic burial at sea, something ...

Oregon is known nationally for its trees and outdoor recreation, but what about the exploding whale? In November 1970, a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach near Florence on the Oregon Coast. To get ...

On Monday night, Florence Mayor Rob Ward, standing before a small crowd at Exploding Whale Memorial Park, flanked by two people dressed in whale costumes — one dead, the other smiling — officially ...

An Oregon highway engineer who blew up a dead beached whale with a half-ton of dynamite in 1970 has died at the age of 84. George Thomas Thornton gained national attention over the exploding whale, ...

Fifty-five years ago, a dead sperm whale washed ashore near Florence — and what happened next became one of the most infamous moments in state history. Engineers from the Oregon Highway Division, ...

The sleepy town of Florence, Oregon, became the setting for one of the most bizarre news stories in American history. An eight-ton sperm whale washed ashore, measuring a whopping forty-five feet in ...

The word “meme” didn’t exist when Paul Linnman and Doug Brazil—a KATU-TV reporter and cameraman, respectively—chartered a flight from Portland to Florence one cool November day in 1970, and the notion ...

OREGON COAST, Ore. — The dead humpback whale that washed up on Nehalem State Park after it was hit and killed by a boat will NOT be blown up, Oregon State Parks has clarified. "History isn't repeating ...

In 1970, a 45-foot, 8-ton sperm whale washed ashore near Florence, Oregon. The Oregon State Highway Division decided to dispose of the carcass using dynamite. Florence will celebrate the 55th ...