Exploding Sperm Whale Analogy Highlights Importance Of Staying Home Amid Pandemic
A local government in northern England cited the botched detonation of a rotting sperm whale carcass in Oregon in 1970 as the perfect example of why people should stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a series of tweets on Monday, Doncaster Council said the Oregon highway department’s controlled explosion of the whale ― which resulted in chunks of blubber raining down on onlookers and cars while the majority of the carcass remained on the beach in the city of Florence — showed why people should listen to experts.
Sometimes it’s “better to just sit at home and do nothing than go outside and do something ridiculous,” the council tweeted.
“The problem hadn’t gone away, only now there were thousands of bits of problem spread for miles around,” the local authority added.
The thread went viral and even earned praise from the city of Florence itself, which tweeted: “We can all learn from the past!” with the hashtag #StayHomeSaveLives.
Check out the thread here:
In November 1970, officials in Oregon, USA decided to blow up a rotting whale carcass. The whole thing went horribly wrong.
Why do we bring this up? Well, this story can teach us 3 things about #coronavirus ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/9MOeRESkzx— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
The story begins when a 45-foot sperm whale washed up on the beach in Florence, Oregon on 9 November 1970.
Here it is: pic.twitter.com/mF3n5tUHmq— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
There was some debate amongst locals about what to do with it.
1️⃣ Although unpleasant, they could leave it to decompose.
2️⃣ They could try and chop it up and bury it (again, not pleasant)
3️⃣ They could blow it up with dynamite and hope that seagulls ate all the small chunks. pic.twitter.com/zgmK7og2uq— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
It was decided that leaving the whale to decompose would be too unpleasant in the short term.
No one wants the smell of rotting sperm whale when they’re eating their Christmas dinner. pic.twitter.com/FYsH2xgCgy— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
Fortunately, at least for the purposes of this history lesson, they chose option 3.
They would blow up the whale. pic.twitter.com/39r7noYnHo— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
George Thornton, who sensibly seems to be wearing a hard hat, was the engineer in charge of the explosion.
By his own admission, he wasn’t sure how much dynamite would be needed to completely obliterate one of the world’s largest mammals, so he opted for half a tonne. pic.twitter.com/st2VLfsiha— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
An ex-member of the military advised George and the other officials that this was waaaay too much, and just a few sticks of dynamite would be enough.
They ignored his advice. pic.twitter.com/J9hVoy44Fj— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
On 12 November, in front of a crowd of excited spectators (yes, really)...they exploded the whale.
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
Very quickly, the short-sightedness of the plan became evident.
The huge amount of dynamite sent massive chunks of blubber flying through the chilly air, and it rained down around the terrified onlookers. pic.twitter.com/LTD5c3e4Ca— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
The overwhelming smell sent people running for their homes as rotting whale plopped down around them.
The situation was dangerous - a car was even crushed by a huge lump of blubber a quarter of a mile away. pic.twitter.com/Mw0svXy90Y— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
To cap everything off, the main bit of the whale stayed exactly where it had been.
The problem hadn’t gone away, only now there were thousands of bits of problem spread for miles around.— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
So why do we tell you this story? Well, as far as we can see, there are three #coronavirus lessons here: pic.twitter.com/1mAG2albiH
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
1️⃣ DON’T IGNORE THE ADVICE THAT EXPERTS GIVE YOU.
They know what they’re talking about.— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
2️⃣ Sometimes, it’s better to just sit at home and do nothing than go outside and do something ridiculous.
Let nature take its course.— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
3️⃣ When you ignore expert advice and act like an idiot, you cover everyone else with decaying whale blubber. #StayHome and stop being selfish.
🧨 🐳— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
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