This Doncaster Council thread looks totally random but makes its point brilliantly
Doncaster Council went wildly viral on Twitter today with this tale about a rotting whale carcass which, at first glimpse, might look entirely random.
But stick with it because it has a very good point to make which it makes very well indeed, and had the whole internet applauding.
1.
In November 1970, officials in Oregon, USA decided to blow up a rotting whale carcass. The whole thing went horribly wrong.
Why do we bring this up? Well, this story can teach us 3 things about #coronavirus ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/9MOeRESkzx
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
2.
The story begins when a 45-foot sperm whale washed up on the beach in Florence, Oregon on 9 November 1970.
Here it is: pic.twitter.com/mF3n5tUHmq
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
3.
There was some debate amongst locals about what to do with it.
1️⃣ Although unpleasant, they could leave it to decompose.
2️⃣ They could try and chop it up and bury it (again, not pleasant)
3️⃣ They could blow it up with dynamite and hope that seagulls ate all the small chunks. pic.twitter.com/zgmK7og2uq
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
4.
It was decided that leaving the whale to decompose would be too unpleasant in the short term.
No one wants the smell of rotting sperm whale when they’re eating their Christmas dinner. pic.twitter.com/FYsH2xgCgy
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
5.
Fortunately, at least for the purposes of this history lesson, they chose option 3.
They would blow up the whale. pic.twitter.com/39r7noYnHo
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
6.
George Thornton, who sensibly seems to be wearing a hard hat, was the engineer in charge of the explosion.
By his own admission, he wasn’t sure how much dynamite would be needed to completely obliterate one of the world’s largest mammals, so he opted for half a tonne. pic.twitter.com/st2VLfsiha
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
7.
An ex-member of the military advised George and the other officials that this was waaaay too much, and just a few sticks of dynamite would be enough.
They ignored his advice. pic.twitter.com/J9hVoy44Fj
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
8.
On 12 November, in front of a crowd of excited spectators (yes, really)…they exploded the whale.
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
9.
Very quickly, the short-sightedness of the plan became evident.
The huge amount of dynamite sent massive chunks of blubber flying through the chilly air, and it rained down around the terrified onlookers. pic.twitter.com/LTD5c3e4Ca
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
10.
The overwhelming smell sent people running for their homes as rotting whale plopped down around them.
The situation was dangerous – a car was even crushed by a huge lump of blubber a quarter of a mile away. pic.twitter.com/Mw0svXy90Y
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
11.
To cap everything off, the main bit of the whale stayed exactly where it had been.
The problem hadn’t gone away, only now there were thousands of bits of problem spread for miles around.
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
12.
So why do we tell you this story? Well, as far as we can see, there are three #coronavirus lessons here: pic.twitter.com/1mAG2albiH
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
13.
1️⃣ DON’T IGNORE THE ADVICE THAT EXPERTS GIVE YOU.
They know what they’re talking about.
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
14.
2️⃣ Sometimes, it’s better to just sit at home and do nothing than go outside and do something ridiculous.
Let nature take its course.
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
15.
3️⃣ When you ignore expert advice and act like an idiot, you cover everyone else with decaying whale blubber. #StayHome and stop being selfish.
🧨 🐳
— Doncaster Council (@MyDoncaster) April 6, 2020
And just a few of the things people had to say about it.
There is a genius in charge of this account. https://t.co/mOf2cIgQb9
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) April 6, 2020
Whoever is running this account is not being paid enough. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
— Overthehillprop (@Overthehillprop) April 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/DanKaszeta/status/1247126768571514882?s=20
Whoever is running your twitter feed is pure genius. Any chance of him or her delivering a few Masterclasses to No. 10?
— Vintage_Maggie (@Vintage_Maggie) April 6, 2020
This thread is BRILLIANT https://t.co/9LbHFkaUAq
— Stephen Pollard (@stephenpollard) April 6, 2020
“Whale meat again.” pic.twitter.com/bwIpKtIz1l
— Mrs Trellis 🏴 (@MrsTrellis4) April 6, 2020
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Source @MyDoncaster