Man behind Oregon's famous 'exploding whale' video dies [View all]

[Brickbat]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/01/242347861/man-behind-oregons-famous-exploding-whale-dies

It's the guy who thought up the stunt, not the one who narrated it:

Oregon highway engineer George Thornton, who in 1970 led an operation to blow up a dead beached whale with half a ton of dynamite, died this week at age 84. Thornton's decision resulted in a foul shower of whale blubber; video of the event has resurfaced periodically, often leading viewers to declare the whole thing a hoax.

But the problem facing Thornton and his colleagues was both real and huge: Measuring 45 feet and weighing 8 tons, the whale had begun to emit an "incredible" stench as it decomposed on the beach, as Oregon's reports.

After consulting experts in the Navy and elsewhere, Thornton decided the best course of action would be to detonate the whale with enough force to disintegrate it into chunks that could be eaten by scavengers — "sea gulls and crabs, and whatnot," as Thornton told KATU back in 1970.

"I'm confident that it'll work," he said, while admitting to some uncertainty over how much dynamite to use. His team approached the problem as they would a large boulder that needs to be broken down, in this case with 20 crates of dynamite. The charge was buried on the landward side of the whale, with the intention of blowing its remains toward the Pacific Ocean.

A classic.