Exploding whales

Talisyn · 11-04-2008, 07:26 AM

Quote:

A whale explosion occurred on January 26, 2004, in Tainan City, Republic of China. In this incident, a buildup of gas inside a decomposing sperm whale, measuring 17 m (55 ft 9 in) long and weighing 50 tons, caused it to burst. The older bull whale had died after becoming beached on the southwestern coast of Taiwan, and it had taken more than 13 hours, three large cranes, and 50 workers to shift the beached sperm whale onto the back of a truck.

While the whale was being moved, Taiwan News reported that "a large crowd of more than 600 local Yunlin residents and curiosity seekers, along with vendors selling snack food and hot drinks, braved the cold temperature and chilly wind to watch workmen try to haul away the dead marine leviathan". Professor Wang Chien-ping had ordered the whale be moved to the Sutsao Wild Life Reservation Area after he had been refused permission to perform a post-mortem at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan. The whale was being transported on the back of a truck through the center of Tainan from the university laboratory to the preserve when the explosion occurred. However, it did not stop researchers from performing a necropsy on the animal.

The explosion was reported to have splattered blood and whale entrails over surrounding shop-fronts, bystanders, and cars. BBC News Online interviewed an unnamed Taiwanese local who said, "What a stinking mess. This blood and other stuff that blew out on the road is disgusting, and the smell is really awful."

I saw a documentary on this the other day and found it fascinating

Tecnos · 11-04-2008, 07:44 AM

I saw the tail end of that documentary (no pun intended)... A shame.

A few years ago this was posted:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/521218/whale_blows_up/

Has it become the stuff of 'urban myth'?
________
Vaporizer

Talisyn · 11-05-2008, 08:39 AM

Nah it is a fact, myths are things like the alligators in new yorks sewers. Where people belive in it but it hasn't been proven and is unlikly to be true. Whales explode because their bodies are made to survive 1000's of meters underwater. This also means their bodies when decomposing take a lot of pressure before popping outwards. This one would of gone off with a bigger bang but for the damage to the spine.

11-04-2008, 07:44 AM	#2
Tecnos Investigator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: UK Posts: 419	I saw the tail end of that documentary (no pun intended)... A shame. A few years ago this was posted: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/521218/whale_blows_up/ Has it become the stuff of 'urban myth'? ________ Vaporizer Last edited by Tecnos; 01-19-2011 at 06:01 AM.

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11-05-2008, 08:39 AM	#3
Talisyn Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 188	Nah it is a fact, myths are things like the alligators in new yorks sewers. Where people belive in it but it hasn't been proven and is unlikly to be true. Whales explode because their bodies are made to survive 1000's of meters underwater. This also means their bodies when decomposing take a lot of pressure before popping outwards. This one would of gone off with a bigger bang but for the damage to the spine.