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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Sperm whale explodes in Tainan City |
| 2004-01-27 |
| A dead sperm whale being transported through Tainan City on its way to a research station suddenly exploded yesterday, splattering cars and shops with blood and guts. Certified by authorities as the largest beached whale on record in Taiwan, the 17-meter 50-ton carcass was being transported by a flat-bed trailer-truck to a special research location after National Cheng Kung University officials and security guards refused to allow the whale on campus. The whale was to be preserved and an autopsy performed at the "Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve" in Tainan County by a team of marine biologists and taxidermists. National Cheng Kung University marine biologist, professor Wang Chien-ping, was on the scene and said he had he instructed the truck driver to move the carcass so the whale could be used for educational purposes and an autopsy could be done. The beached whale was found on along a stretch of coast in Yunlin County on Saturday. "The animal was close to death when someone found it beached on shore on Saturday... Because of the natural decomposing process, a lot of gases accumulated, and when the pressure buildup was too great, the whale’s belly just exploded and spilled blood and the innards on the street," Wang said. Despite the explosion, enough of the whale remained intact that it will still be transported to the ’Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve’ for a scientific examination, Wang added. Local news reports showed a number of people who had gathered to take photographs of the whale before it exploded in Tainan City, as well as residents and shop owners following the explosion. Many were wearing gauze-masks and trying to clean up the spilled blood and the entrails with brushes and brooms. "What a stinking mess! This blood and other stuff that blew out on the road is disgusting, and the smell is really awful," said one resident. The news also showed one section of the street along with several parked automobiles and pedestrian walkways covered in red with copious amounts of splattered whale blood. The rest of the story gets even grimmer. |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #6 I wanna see a picture! |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2004-1-28 8:50:51 AM |
| #5 "Who blowed up da whale?" --Amiri Baraka "The whales are fighting their Zionist opressors by the only means they have. Free Willie!" --International Solidarity Movement "Whales deserve their own state, and the right of return." --Jimmy Carter |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-1-28 6:10:46 AM |
| #4 Does this qualify the whale for 72 Virgin Whales? |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-1-27 11:04:50 PM |
| #3 Is this why New England whalers cried out "Thar she blows!"? |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-1-27 10:46:37 PM |
| #2 Sushi for everyone! |
| Posted by: ed 2004-1-27 10:38:06 PM |
| #1 Now, was this a Hamas whale, or a Hezbollah whale? Or is Greenpeace funnelling donations towards those terrorist training camps I keep hearing rumors about in the Bering sea? |
| Posted by: Vic 2004-1-27 10:28:45 PM |