11. A Seemingly-Dynamite Idea That Was Not So Dynamite
Without a frame of reference, Oregon’s Highway Division concluded that dragging the behemoth off and burying it was not a good idea, because decomposition gasses would destabilize the grave and uncover it. Cutting it up and then burying it would reduce that risk, but nobody was willing to chop up the stinking carcass.
So the authorities turned to dynamite: 20 cases, or half a ton of it. A military veteran with explosives training happened to be in the area, and he warned that 20 cases of dynamite was way too much. His advice that 20 sticks of dynamite would be enough was ignored by the authorities, who hoped that the blast would disintegrate the whale, with the resulting small pieces getting consumed by scavengers.