Newfoundland Stranded Whale Probably Won't Explode

Exploding whales—they boast a fairly brief, but dramatic history on the internet. Of course, who could forget this horrifying, totally disgusting, but oddly compelling video of a sperm whale carcass exploding in the Faroe Islands

So when a dead blue whale washed ashore in Trout River, Newfoundland, last week, the Internet had to know: Would it explode?

Helpfully, one expert made us a handy web site: hasthewhaleexplodedyet.com. It’s the work of Andrew David Thaler, a PhD in marine science and a deep-sea ecologist based in the Bay Area of California. He’s also the editor-in-chief of Southern Fried Science, a science writer for Upwell, and a disseminator of fascinating ocean stuff on Twitter at @SFriedScientist So we had to track him down and ask the million-dollar questions. Why do whales explode? Just how gross/bad is it when they do? What’s going to happen with this one in Newfoundland?
Here’s a hint—it’s good for the town, but maybe bad for the internet.
Read on for everything you wanted to know about exploding dead whales. 

Fusion: As a deep-sea ecologist, what is your particular interest in whales?
Andrew David Thaler: I actually work a lot with dead whales, in the deep sea. When a whale dies at sea, it tends to sink, and that’s a huge input of food into deep-sea ecosystem, which tend to be very food-limited. So it represents basically a massive input of energy and you get these huge, unique communities that grow and live around them. So I’m very interested in dead whales, primarily at sea-—but I’m also always entertained when whales wash ashore and these kinds of news stories break.

You mentioned that usually, dead whales sink. So why would a dead whale wash onto shore, like this one has done? 
Sometimes when whales die close to shore, they strand. Sometimes whales will strand first, then die. I don’t actually know the specifics of what caused these particular whales-—there are actually three of them along the Newfoundland coast—-I don’t know the specifics of what cause these three particular whales to strand, and we won’t know until a necropsy is done, which I believe the Canadian government is preparing.

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Antibiotic resistance now 'global threat', WHO warns

Resistance to antibiotics poses a "major global threat" to public health, says a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

It analysed data from 114 countries and said resistance was happening now "in every region of the world".

It described a "post-antibiotic era", where people die from simple infections that have been treatable for decades.

There were likely to be "devastating" implications unless "significant" action was taken urgently, it added.

The report focused on seven different bacteria responsible for common serious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and blood infections.

It suggested two key antibiotics no longer work in more than half of people being treated in some countries.

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Another round of deadly tornados

Death toll of vicious weather rises to 35

Homeland Security: Don't use IE due to bug !

Sharyl Attkisson Says She ‘Became a Target’ of the Left Over Her Reporting

Part 1

Part 2

Craig Ferguson, host of CBS’ “Late Late Show,” announced he's leaving !

Craig Ferguson, host of CBS’ “Late Late Show,” announced Monday night he would be leaving at the end of the year, following news he would not be given the “Late Show” spot by departing host David Letterman. If you didn’t watch the show — or even if you did — you might not know that Ferguson, originally from Scotland, became a U.S. citizen in 2008. And his public statements about America and its exceptionalism are powerful — especially one speech in particular.

In a whirlwind January 2008 weekend, Ferguson became a U.S. citizen, got his pilot’s license and watched the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Six months later, he found himself in Boston at Faneuil Hall giving a Fourth of July speech. It remains one of my favorite speeches about America.

“There is a new and bigger freedom in America,” Ferguson said. “We believe all people are born equal, so the past, whatever that may be, does not have a stranglehold on the future.”

He went on: “America is not only the greatest country on earth, but also the finest expression of hope for the human race. It is nothing less than that. Sooner or later, sooner or later, America always does the right thing.”

He continued to talk about the power to “fire” our leaders, the honor of the military, his gratitude for his new country and why “being your best self” is the best expression of gratitude. It ended, unsurprisingly, with a standing ovation. Watch it all here:

Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Fined $2.5M and Banned for Life by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling will be banned for life and fined $2.5 million for racist comments, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday.

"We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views," Silver said. "They simply have no place in the NBA."

The move comes after days of outrage at ugly words attributed to Sterling from a taped conversation with an ex-girlfriend.

NBC Sports' Donald Sterling Coverage

The comments, where the octogenarian owner seemed to say he didn't want his much-younger girlfriend hanging out with black people on Instagram or bringing them to games, were first reported by TMZ and then in another recording posted on the sports website Deadspin.




At the press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Commissioner Silver said an investigation had confirmed that the voice on the tapes and the "hateful opinions voiced" were those of Sterling.

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