On the 37th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale, radio host and former exploding whale reporter Paul Linnman interviewed Chicago stand-up comic Chris Gummert, whose one-man show on the exploding whale is currently playing at the Apollo Theater in Chicago (as  previously   reported ).  From the interview:  It is equal parts, I think, research project and stand-up. It incorporates the original video as well as videos about dynamite and the history of dynamite. And so it’s a pretty in-depth view of those things. TheExplodingWhale.com has added a transcript of Linnman’s interview to its evidence collection. It can be accessed through the following link: Linnman interviews comic behind exploding whale one-man show (11/12/07)

WikiWorld cartoonist  Greg Williams   drew a comic about Oregon’s exploding whale, presumably in celebration of the anniversary. I particularly appreciated the facial expression on reporter Paul Linnman’s face in the first pane of the comic. To see Paul’s expression and the rest of strip, click through on the thumbnail or the link below. WikiWorld comic: “Exploding whale”

On this, the 37th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale, let us engage in a little thought experiment. For a moment, just pause and reflect upon all those things in your life that you take way too seriously… that cause you to lose sleep or to sleep too much… that create stress and anxiety in your life. Consider those times where you’ve been so focused on what is wrong or what you find offensive or what you take too personally. Examine those attitudes that lead to denial, delusion, and defiance.  And now ask yourself:  Wherein lies the good? Wherein lies the happiness? Wherein lies the humor? For me, the Exploding Whale embodies this view of life and the world around us. Sure, this sounds silly, but it’s really a classic example of the thought experiment above. I’ve always been intrigued by the dichotomy induced by the events of November 12, 1970. Some people immediately see the hilarity, folly, and absurdity of what happened, while others see it only as tragic and depressing, a sad c

As  previously reported …. Countdown: The Story of the Exploding Whale  continues its phenomenally funny run at the Apollo Theater on Wednesday nights at 8pm through the end of November. The hilarious new multi-media, one-man show from writer/comedian Chris Gummert unravels the true story of a beached whale that was disposed of using a half-ton of dynamite in 1970. The resulting explosion sent blubber flying and totaled a car a quarter of a mile away. The news footage of the disposal has since gone on to become the fifth most watched video on the Internet, according to the BBC. In this painstakingly researched show Gummert utilizes an exciting range of storytelling techniques and technology to uncover a truly bizarre tale; a tale that touches on unwanted presents, stolen teeth, a brief history of dynamite and the importance of scheduling vacation days in advance. Countdown also covers modern disposal techniques utilized around the globe and discusses additional whale disposals that end