Historical Events tagged with "highway division"
Turns out history loves a label—battles, breakthroughs, and the occasional disaster, all neatly tagged for your browsing pleasure. Because sometimes you just need every weird invention in one place.
Accidents & Tragedies
The Exploding Whale Incident of Florence
November 12th, 1970 54 years ago
In a peculiar attempt to remove a decaying sperm whale that had washed ashore near Florence, Oregon, the Oregon Highway Division decided to use explosives. Their plan was to scatter the whale's remains far enough from the beach to avoid attracting scavengers. The operation involved placing several half-ton blocks of dynamite on the carcass, which resulted in an unexpected and dramatic explosion. While parts of the whale were indeed blown away, they rained down on cars and property, creating chaos and drawing considerable attention.
Continue Reading