This is the name given to an event in Florence, Oregon, in 1970an event at Florence, Oregon, in 1970, when a dead sperm whale was blown up by the Oregon Highway Division in the hope that this would dispose of it. The explosion threw whale flesh over 800 feet away. This incident became famous in the United States when American humorist Dave Barry wrote about it in his newspaper column after viewing a videotape of television footage of the explosion. The event later became well-known internationally when the same footage circulated on the Internet.