Dead whales, explosions, flying blubber and killed CADILLAC ...
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the whale that killed a CADILLAC ...
Dead whales, explosions, flying blubber, and one smashed Cadillac ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkZot...1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rf1B...eature=related
from multiple public sources ...
On November 12, 1970, a 45 ft, eight-ton sperm whale died as a result of beaching itself near Florence, Oregon.
All Oregon beaches are under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department,[2], but responsibility for disposing of the carcass fell upon a sister agency, the Oregon Highway Division (now known as the Oregon Department of Transportation, or ODOT).
After consulting with officials from the United States Navy, they decided that it would be best to remove the whale as they would remove a boulder. They believed the dynamite would disintegrate the whale into pieces small enough for scavengers to clear up.
Thus, half a ton of dynamite was applied to the carcass. The engineer in charge of the operation, George Thornton, stated his fear that one set of charges might not be enough, and more might be needed.
The resulting explosion was caught on film by cameraman Doug Brazil for a story reported by news reporter Paul Linnman of KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon.
The explosion caused large pieces of blubber to land near buildings and in parking lots some distance away from the beach, one of which caused severe damage to a parked Cadillac.
Only some of the whale was disintegrated; most of it remained on the beach for the Oregon Highway Division workers to clear away. Fortunately, no one was hurt as badly as the car. However, everyone was covered with small particles of very smelly dead whale.
How did ODOT get to be the agency in charge of overseeing Oregon beaches?
In the early years of Oregon's statehood, beaches were widely used as public roads. The coastal terrain was mountainous, the beach was flat, there were lots of Douglas fir trees around -- so, how best to build roads?
Fell a few trees, squish them into the sand, presto -- instant highway!
Such roads were called "corduroy" or "plank" roads, and they were the primary means of north-sound coastal land transportation.
When ODOT (initially called the State Highway Commission) was created in 1913, it made sense for the fledgling agency inherit jurisdiction over the sandy roads.
That seemingly insignificant fact wound up having implications far beyond determining who got stuck with whale carcasses. It ultimately resulted in the Oregon Beach Bill, the ground-breaking law that guarantees public ownership of all beaches between the water and the vegetation line.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkZot...1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rf1B...eature=related
from multiple public sources ...
On November 12, 1970, a 45 ft, eight-ton sperm whale died as a result of beaching itself near Florence, Oregon.
All Oregon beaches are under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department,[2], but responsibility for disposing of the carcass fell upon a sister agency, the Oregon Highway Division (now known as the Oregon Department of Transportation, or ODOT).
After consulting with officials from the United States Navy, they decided that it would be best to remove the whale as they would remove a boulder. They believed the dynamite would disintegrate the whale into pieces small enough for scavengers to clear up.
Thus, half a ton of dynamite was applied to the carcass. The engineer in charge of the operation, George Thornton, stated his fear that one set of charges might not be enough, and more might be needed.
The resulting explosion was caught on film by cameraman Doug Brazil for a story reported by news reporter Paul Linnman of KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon.
The explosion caused large pieces of blubber to land near buildings and in parking lots some distance away from the beach, one of which caused severe damage to a parked Cadillac.
Only some of the whale was disintegrated; most of it remained on the beach for the Oregon Highway Division workers to clear away. Fortunately, no one was hurt as badly as the car. However, everyone was covered with small particles of very smelly dead whale.
How did ODOT get to be the agency in charge of overseeing Oregon beaches?
In the early years of Oregon's statehood, beaches were widely used as public roads. The coastal terrain was mountainous, the beach was flat, there were lots of Douglas fir trees around -- so, how best to build roads?
Fell a few trees, squish them into the sand, presto -- instant highway!
Such roads were called "corduroy" or "plank" roads, and they were the primary means of north-sound coastal land transportation.
When ODOT (initially called the State Highway Commission) was created in 1913, it made sense for the fledgling agency inherit jurisdiction over the sandy roads.
That seemingly insignificant fact wound up having implications far beyond determining who got stuck with whale carcasses. It ultimately resulted in the Oregon Beach Bill, the ground-breaking law that guarantees public ownership of all beaches between the water and the vegetation line.
.
Last edited by stomper; Nov 3, 2009 at 10:30 PM.
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