Sadly, a beached humpback whale that rescuers had initially succeeded in returning to open water in Namibia, Africa, came ashore again and is now expected to die soon. Named Humphrey by the rescuers that kept the whale alive for two days before towing him back to sea, the humpback has suffered severe burns and possibly collapsed lungs. From the article: “The rescue team had considered putting an end to Humphrey’s misery but  they couldn’t get the dynamite needed to end his life. ” Exploding whale averted. Humpback Whale Remains Stuck in Lagoon At Walvis Bay Death Watch for Humphrey

On November 20, 1820, the American whaler  Essex  was attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale 2,000 miles off the western coast of South America. The 238-ton  Essex  was hunting sperm whales for the precious oil and bone that they possess when an angered bull whale rammed the ship twice, capsizing it. Twenty crew members managed to escape in three boats, but only five survived the 83-day journey to the coast of South America, where they were saved by other ships.  (Source:  The Worst-Case Scenario Daily Survival Calendar 2005 , published by Chronicle Books.)  If you have any interest in tales of human adventure and survival, I highly recommend reading  The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex  by the ship’s First Mate, Owen Chase. This amazing story was the real-life inspiration for Melville’s  Moby Dick .

Happy 35th anniversary to Oregon’s Exploding Whale!  I think Bob Welch put it best in his  recent column :  This story isn’t about death. It’s about a whale that refuses to die. A whale that lives on. Lives on indeed! News coverage of the anniversary continues… Bob Welch: Tale of flying blubber keeps bubbling up  –  RegisterGuard.com  (reproduced locally; link to  original article ) The (True) Legend of the Exploding Whale  –  About.com The 35th Anniversary of The Exploding Whale  –  Bend.com Reporter Tells Story of Exploding Whale, Again  (transcript available  here ) –  NPR.org

We just want to extend a warm welcome to our fellow Oregonians who are visiting our new and improved Exploding Whale website after reading  Bob Welch ‘s column in today’s  Register-Guard  newspaper.  The column  profiles this website in honor of this Saturday’s 35th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale (November 12, 2005). We’re very excited that you are among the very first to see our new and improved site, which we are officially launching today! If you are not familiar with Oregon’s exploding whale, make sure to click through the drop-down links in the  First-time visitor?   section. If you’re an EW veteran, we’ve added a ton of new content, including all the old  newspaper articles from November, 1970 , and a catalog of  other exploding whales .  For a more detailed history of this website, take a look at our  About this site  page. Then, have a look around and  leave a few words on our feedback page . Most importantly, add us to your bookmarks and come back soon!

Bowhead whale Eskimos are being armed with a new type of harpoon-mounted grenade that is supposedly more “effective” at killing the Bowhead whales they hunt. The new Penthrite grenades, which replace 19th century “black powder” grenades, supposedly reduce the time it takes to “humanely” kill one of these massive creatures — which grow to be 50-60 feet long and weigh 80-110 tons — from 60 minutes to 15 minutes. The two types of grenades accomplish their goal differently. Black powder is a slow-burning explosive that generally kills by causing hemorrhage. If a whale is struck near a vital organ, death can be swift. But multiple strikes sometimes are needed, endangering crews in traditional, wooden-ribbed boats as a bowhead thrashes in icy seas. On the other hand:  Once the [penthrite] grenade penetrates the whale’s skin and explodes, it produces a concussion that lethally shocks the central nervous system. It’s taken until now for the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission to come up with this

On this day in 1952, the United States detonated the  world’s first thermonuclear weapon  on Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific Ocean. More commonly known as the hydrogen bomb, this new weapon was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than conventional nuclear devices. Testing the weapon gave the United States a short-lived advantage in its nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union, which had successfully detonated an atomic device in September of 1949. The H-bomb completely vaporized the island of Elugelab in the Eniwetok Atoll.  (Source:  The Worst-Case Scenario Daily Survival Calendar 2005 , published by Chronicle Books.)