It's been half a century since that fateful day now etched into the psyche of Oregonians and many others around the world. Half. A. Century. 50 years. Happy 50th Exploding Whale Day! Sadly, an explosion of another kind –  Covid-19 – is having a dampening effect on celebrations around this momentous occasion. Some notable events: On Thursday, November 12, the  Oregon Historical Society  will host a conversation with Paul Linnman, the television reporter whose hilarious, deadpan report is now famous around the world. The virtual program is free and open to the public, though registration is required. See  The 50th Anniversary of Blasted Blubber: A Conversation with Paul Linnman  for more information. In addition, there will be small, physically-distanced gathering at a brewpub in Florence on November 14. See  Oregon Coast's Exploding Whale 50th Celebrated in Florence, Online  for details. There will be a virtual gathering on Facebook where you can show ...

Hello Exploding Whale fans!  We're excited to announce the all-new version of TheExplodingWhale.com . This site has been simplified and is now optimized for viewing on the wide range of devices on which we all consume content these days.  Behind the scenes, we've switched from a custom-themed Wordpress platform to the new Google Sites platform. The blog has been deemphasized since most breaking news is covered on our social media channels these days: Twitter -  @Exploding_Whale Facebook -  @TheExplodingWhale YouTube -  The Exploding Whale Finally, we've elevated the core content that makes TheExplodingWhale.com the web's most comprehensive source of information on exploding whales and related stories.

  It’s the anniversary of that fateful day in 1970 that changed the world forever. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter accounts for the latest links to events and articles related to the anniversary: Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TheExplodingWhale/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Exploding_Whale

  We’ll be covering all the festivities of the 45th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale! Don’t miss out on the fun! ‘A whale of a problem’: 45th anniversary of a dynamite idea   –   KVAL Happy 45th Anniversary, Exploding Whale   –   EarthTouch ‘My car!’: Eugene man recalls ‘whale of a deal’ family got on car in 1970   –   KMTR 45th anniversary of the infamous exploding whale   –   KATU Happy Exploding Whale Day!   –   The Portland Mercury Exploding-whale day: the 45th anniversary   –   Improbable Research Long before the viral video or ‘breaking the internet’, there was the exploding whale   –   9News (Australia)

Prolific singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens’ tour-only song “Exploding Whale” has made its way online. As Stevens says in the song, “Embrace the epic fail / Of my exploding whale.” Listen here first: Spin magazine and several other sites are also covering the release: Sufjan Stevens Shows Off His Electronic Side on ‘Exploding Whale’  – Spin Listen to Sufjan Stevens’ New Bonus Track, “Exploding Whale”   – Diffuser Sufjan Stevens Releases Non-Album Track “Exploding Whale”  – Pitchfork Sufjan Stevens shares new song “Exploding Whale” — listen  – Consequence of Sound

Today — November 12, 2013 — marks the 43rd anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale. So, Happy Exploding Whale Day to you! Of course, we’re all missing  George Thornton , the Oregon highway engineer most responsible for the infamous blubber blast.  He passed away  just over two weeks ago. Alas, life goes on. And occasionally we even learn something new, such as  this gem from The Oregonian  which had escaped me until today: November 12, 1970. A day that will live in infamy. And hilarity. Call it Infalarity. Or Hilaramy. Whatever. But 43 years ago today, on November 12, 1970, at 3:45 p.m., the famous Exploding Whale – yes, THAT exploding whale — was blown up on the Oregon coast, in Florence. Meanwhile, in Portland, some 132 miles away as the exploding whale blubber flies, Tonya Harding was born. Yes, that  Tonya Harding . Even if you don’t care about Tonya, you need to click through so you can read the first-ever set of “Tonya-and-the-Exploding-Whale” limeric...

  Just a quick note to wish you all a… Happy 42nd Exploding Whale Day!

Happy Exploding Whale Day! Today is the 41st anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale!

All 40th anniversary content has been archived on our new   40th anniversary   page. This includes several news articles, still images, and three videos. 40th anniversary articles & videos   – TheExplodingWhale.com

Friday, November 12, 2010, marks the 40th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale. Please take a moment to reflect.  Dynamite idea 40 years ago blew up into a whale of a story ( video )  – KVAL ‘We almost didn’t get it on air’  ( video )  – KATU 40th Anniversary of the Exploding Whale  (includes video) – KATU AM Northwest 40th Anniversary of Oregon Coast Exploding Whale Film Clip  – BeachConnection.net The 40th anniversary of the funniest thing to ever happen in Oregon, and the lessons learned  – Statesman Journal And be sure to join the  virtual celebration on Facebook ! The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds. – Paul Linnman, TV news reporter, Nov. 12, 1970

Today, November 12, 2008, is the 38th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale. Some years this date almost passes by unnoticed. But not this year. It is perhaps because the events of this day in 1970 stand in such dramatic contrast to the many truly serious events and changes currently taking place in the world — among them, global warming, ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an international economic crisis, the lasting effects of the Bush presidency, and the hope for enduring change under an Obama presidency — that I was, ironically, compelled to lightheartedly celebrate this year’s Exploding Whale anniversary. So, after you observe the requisite moment of silence for our beloved cetacean detonation, you need to the following: Go watch the  original video . (Yeah, I know you’ve seen it before. Go watch it again — it’s a CLASSIC, remember?!?) Now, do something that really matters: go take a look around this interesting site:  The World’s Biggest Problems  created by...

We are excited to announce the second generation  Exploding Whale Locator Map  featuring Google Maps technology. As the explosions have continued since our original locator map was built, we longed for a more flexible approach that would allow the map to be updated quickly and easily. Google Maps’  My Maps  feature was the perfect solution. The map pinpoints the location of each exploding whale incident and features pop-up information boxes (see sample below) typically containing a brief description of the incident, a photo, and a link to the page or entry on this site with additional information. You can always find a link to the map in the  sidebar on our main page . Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about the new  Exploding Whale Locator Map . Exploding Whale Locator    (on theexplodingwhale.com) Exploding Whale Locator   (on maps.google.com)

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...

Just a quick blurb to make sure that the 36th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale does not go unnoticed. It was on November 12, 1970, that the Oregon Highway Division detonated a half-ton of dynamite around the rotting carcass of a sperm whale… and made history.  The date also marks the first anniversary of our newly designed website, which  we launched a year ago in conjunction with a newspaper column featuring our website . Keep telling your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and anyone else you can think of about the Exploding Whale. As long as they keep visiting, we’ll keep our site up and running.  PS: If you haven’t watched the exploding whale video in a while, you should do so today:  click to play the video .

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 importan...

The official launch of TheExplodingWhale.com is just 2 weeks away and will roughly coincide with the 35th anniversary of Oregon’s Exploding Whale on Saturday, November 12, 2005! This site will go live a couple days earlier on Thursday, November 10, 2005.

With the 35th anniversary of the  Exploding Whale  rapidly approaching, I’ve renewed my efforts on getting this new site up and running. If all goes as planned, the new site will be released in conjunction with the anniversary. And there’s at least one other surprise in order that will be coordinated with the anniversary and release of the new site, but for now it will remain a surprise.

An all new and improved exploding whale website is coming soon!