"The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds"
As promised here is the infamous exploding whale video. The whale weighed around 8 tons and none other than the Oregon Highway Division was placed in charge of the removal. Their idea was to use around a half ton of TNT to disintegrate it. It has to be seen to be believed. The story takes place on Nov. 12, 1970. Here is a site about it that includes some comments from Dave Barry.