Update: CNN is now reporting that there are three dead blue whales on nearby beaches in Newfoundland. Thanks to Phil Leon for the heads-up.

In case you missed the news, a dead 25m (81ft) blue whale has drifted ashore on the rocky beach of Trout River on the island of Newfoundland, Canada.  It was believed to have died in heavy ice several weeks ago.  The now decaying whale is bloating with methane gas as it decomposes.  As local officials and federal authorities argue over who is responsible for the whale’s removal, there is a real concern that the whale may explode. Last year a sperm whale carcass that washed up on the Faroe Islands exploded as a biologist attempted to dissect it.  (Video after the page break.)

But how does one keep track of what is happening to the bloated dead whale on the distant Newfoundland beach?  Through the wonder of the internet, the answer is only a click away. A new website, HastheWhaleExplodedYet.com, reports that as 23:48 PST 4/30/14 (5:48 Newfoundland Time 5/1/14,) the answer is “No. Not Yet.”

This is not the first time that the internet has proven invaluable in keeping up with breaking news.  When some worried that the start up of the Large Hadron Collider in 2008 might open up a worm hole and suck the earth and all the universe into oblivion, a helpful website was set up to answer the question — Has the Large Hadron Collider Destroyed the Earth?  (So far, the answer is “No.”)

Whale explosions are an even greater concern than particle colliders destroying the earth, or at least whale explosions have happen more often.  Last year a dead sperm whale washed ashore in the Faroe Islands.   When marine biologist Bjarni Mikkelsen attempted an autopsy on the whale, it exploded, or perhaps more accurately “popped” due to the accumalted methane gas.  The event was captured on Faroes Island television and went viral, or should be say “exploded” on You Tube.

Graphic video: Dead sperm whale explodes as biologist cuts open….

In at least one documented case, a whale has been blown up, rather than let it explode on its own. In the 1970s, a dead gray whale washed up on a beach in Florence, Washington. The highway department tried to blow up the whale with a half ton of dynamite. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn’t.

See our previous post for the video:  How Not to Dispose of a Dead Whale

Thanks to Phil Leon and Alan Janus for contributing to this post.