https://katu.com/news/local/the-exploding-whale-50th-anniversary-o f-legendary-oregon-event

https://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=176

you can really see the flying chunks now

Nice find. I had completely forgotten about this video; it's so nice to see a better quality version that isn't 200x200px and pixelated!

Ok I'm going to go full diary mode on this one:

This is the first video I ever saw on the internet. Years later, after having moved to Oregon, I went to the beach and could not remember why "Florence, Oregon" was such a familiar name. I then realized I was standing on the exploding whale beach.

Fun fact about the whole event: One of the cars that was smashed? It was a recent purchase of an military guy that happened to be in town to get a deal on a new car. He also happened to have a background in explosives, and tried to warn them that they were doing it wrong. They did it anyway.

A classic.