The Exploding Whale

A dead sperm whale washed up on a beach in Florence, Oregon in November 1970. It was so big that the authorities decided to blow it up - with disastrous consequences. Years later, a local news report about the story resurfaced in the early days of the internet, and became one of the most famous viral videos ever. Lucy Burns speaks to Paul Linnman, the reporter behind the story.

Picture: a sperm whale washed ashore in Skegness, England in January 2016 (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)