In 1970, the state tried to dispose of a beached whale using a half-ton of dynamite.

A 45-foot, eight-ton sperm whale washed up on the coast near Florence, #Oregon. The highway division was in charge of removing it, and their solution was to blow it up, hoping seagulls would eat the smaller pieces.

Instead, the explosion blasted massive chunks of rotting whale blubber hundreds of feet into the air. It rained down on the spectators who had gathered to watch, and one massive chunk completely crushed a brand-new car parked a quarter-mile away. There is now a commemorative park in Florence playfully named “Exploding Whale Memorial Park.”