Copies began appearing on bulletin board systemssort of a primitive early internetacross the us around 1994, and today the legend of the exploding whale lives on. Fascination with the subject only intensified when a video clip of a local. And florence had hoped the tale of the exploding whale would be buried. Explodingwhale engineer george thornton has died at age. When people introduce dave barry, they always say he won a pulitzer prize. Dave barry remains one of the funniest writers alive.
And other remarkable stories from the evening news. Oregons exploding whale put misguided engineer in internet spotlight. In any event, the exploding whale with the help of syndicated humor columnist dave barry, who had great fun with it has become part of our entire nations pop culture and has been mistaken for an urban legend. And other remarkable stories from linnman, paul, brazil, doug on. Not only was the video great for grabbing smiles and laughs from friends and coworkers, it always was a great story. Edna buchanan, elmore leonard, exploding whale, friday. Dave is dave barry, who is a humor columnist and presidential contender. The story of the exploding whale was given new life on may 20, 1990, when humorist dave barry wrote moby yuck for his syndicated column. The exploding whale the infamous 1970 video that documents how not to get rid of an 8ton whale. I tried all the troubleshooting links and all the alternative download sites and i. Dave, at least you can find solace in the knowledge that there is video documentation of exploding whales. Afterwards, it grew into an urban legend that seemed too absurd to be true. Exploding whale engineer george thornton has died at age 84. This blog is shocked, shocked, to learn thanks to claire martin that the wikipedia entry on exploding cow is being considered for.
He described his interest in exploding things in a note in dave barry talks back. The most famous explosion occurred in the united states at florence, oregon, in 1970, when a dead sperm whale originally reported as a gray whale was blown up by the oregon highway division in an attempt to dispose of its rotting carcass. Discover and visit new breweries interact with other. An abridged version of the piece was posted on an electronic bulletin board, and the story spread.
And that in 1992 i absolutely laid out a room full of drunks coworkers with a reading of moby yuck. The stuff blowing up trope as used in popular culture. Not only was the video great for grabbing smiles and laughs from friends and. The truth about the legendary exploding whale of florence, oregon. The tape is from a local tv news show in oregon, which sent a reporter out to cover the removal of a 45foot, eightton dead whale that washed up on the beach. A widely reported case of an exploding whale occurred in florence, oregon in november 1970, when the oregon highway division now the oregon department of transportation blew up a decaying sperm whale with dynamite in an attempt to dispose of its rotting carcass. Exploding whales have been documented on two notable occasions, as well as several lesserknown ones. When the plunger was pushed the explosion was set to disintegrate the carcass of an 8ton sperm whale that had washed up on the beach near florence, oregon. I remember the first internet video i ever saw, it was the famous exploding whale video. For those not familiar with barry he wrote an article on the exploding whale years ago, and still gets mail from people who want to see him write an article about it. American humorist dave barry wrote about it in his newspaper column in 1990 after. Long thought to be an urban legend, the story gained traction when humorist dave barry wrote about the exploding whale in the 1990s. A sort of history of the united states 1989 dave barry turns 40 1990 dave barry s only travel guide youll ever need 1991 dave barry s guide to life 1991 includes dave barry s guide to marriage andor sex, babies and other hazards of sex, stay fit and healthy until youre dead and claw your way to the top.
The story of the exploding whale became legend in oregon. By 1994 the exploding whale had worked its way onto the internet in the form of an uncredited version of dave barry s article. David mcalister barry born july 3, 1947 is a pulitzer prizewinning american author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the miami herald from 1983 to 2005. Humorist dave barry did his best to inject a bit of levity into the depressed building industry with his keynote address today at the opening ceremony of the 2010 international builders show in. Please note if all else fails, you can read the annotated transcript of. Carl hiaasen while reading dave barry s big trouble, i laughed so loud i fell out of a chair. Dave barry touches upon toilets and an exploding whale. My first whale video came in the form of a vhs tape mailed to me by a stranger. The humor of the entire situation suddenly gave way to a run for survival as huge chunks of whale blubber fell everywhere, linnman says in the video. Dave barry, humor columnist and author of insane city. The number 1 app for san diego craft breweries download this app to stay on top of the exploding craft beer industry in san diego, california, the beer capital of the world. The original footage of the exploding whale first appeared on katu channel 2 portland, or, in 1970. Some 20 years later, humor writer dave berry wrote about the exploding whale as one of his, im not making this up stories, said shoaps.
The story was considered an urban legend by most people, though. In any event, the exploding whale with the help of syndicated humor columnist dave barry, who had great fun with it has become part of our entire nations pop culture and has been mistaken for. Although flying a helicopter may seem very difficult, the truth is that if you can drive a car, you can, with just a few minutes of instruction, take the controls of one of these amazing machines. In taiwan a whale selfexploded from a buildup of decomposition gasses while it was on board a truck, make a mess of the curious bystanders, cars, and store fronts. A dave barry column describing the events of the original, and arguably better, exploding whale story comes up. Exploding pickles free download at rocket download.
In 2010, a site was created in honor of the 40th anniversary of the event. It was the funniest video you could find on the infant internet, this really cool extension of university networks. After watching the video, leave us a comment below or on the site feedback page. There is also an article about the incident titled exploding whale. Siuslaw news in memoriam of florences exploding whale. In 1990, dave barry wrote a column about the whale bringing the story to national prominence. He also, popularized the exploding whale incident in oregon. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Please note if all else fails, you can read the annotated transcript of the original newsreel. Ever a florida man defends his homeland, at the 2018 rancho mirage writers festival in california this program. How to fly a helicopter, by dave barry anandtech forums. Exploding whale academic dictionaries and encyclopedias.
And florence had hoped the tale of the exploding whale would be buried in the sand as well, until 1990 when pulitzer prize winning writing dave barry wrote in his syndicated column about the event, having just viewed the linnman video. This took place in 1970, long before barry wrote about it, but its through his article. The original footage of the exploding whale first appeared on katu channel 2. In memoriam of florences exploding whale siuslaw news. Follow the authors funny perspectives and opinions on parenting, marriage, family life, politics and florida living. All of these videos, plus additional exploding whale related videos, are available at video portal on.
It includes many that id list among his classics, such as the exploding whale column and several about. Internet mourns oregon man who dynamited dead whale in 1970. There have been several cases of whale carcasses bursting due to a buildup of gas in the. We here at the competitive enterprise institute were excited when the funny and insightful writer dave barry agreed to deliver the keynote address at our 35th anniversary dinner and reception. Most people who first encountered the exploding whale tale online back in. This may possibly be my favorite collection of dave barry s columns, although i might find myself saying that about another collection the next time i read another.
Read dave barry s column and blog articles, including the writers gift guides. Exploding whale video discussion in non diving related. I remember because it was so hard to get it took a long time to download all 10 mb of it over dialup, and it took multiple tries because the line would drop partway through. Watch that exploding whale video, siouxie, before calling on the government to do something. Some 20 years later, humor writer dave barry wrote about the exploding whale as one of his im not making this up stories, said ed shoaps.
After facing a rain of bouncing boulders the size of volkswagens, an exploding whale forty years in the making, and the worst latte in the history of the world, jackson poe no longer believes in coincidence. The explosion threw whale flesh over 800 feet 240 m away. The incident has been written about by dave barry, and honored by npr. Somehow, the original videotape of the newscast made its way to humorist dave barry in 1990.
Amazingly, many news bureaus actually reported the incident as though it had just happened. Many florence residents were not pleased they felt this was the wrong way to get ones hometown on the map. Author and satirist dave barry remarked on his many books, including best. And believe it or not, it is neither folklore nor urban. Someone ought to send this link to dave barry sarcasm p. The history of exploding whales is the history of the internet itself. The simpsons the squirt and the whale tv episode 2010. Its never the wrong time to watch the classic video one of the first to go viral of the misguided explosion of a whale on an oregon beach.
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