G’day there!

You know, it feels like it was just yesterday that we rolled into September, a fact about which I was none too pleased. And now here we stand at the precipice of October. Outrageous. But to be honest, I’ve actually no issue with October. Why? OK, fine, I’ll tell you. It’s really quite simple: October brings with it (Canadian) Thanksgiving, my all-time favourite holiday, and as of this post but a mere few days around the corner. A calorie-free weekend and you get to wear stretchy pants – what’s not to love? I can already feel the inevitable turkey coma lurking, waiting to put me under its tryptophanic spell.

It’s going to be great…

Anyway, I thought I’d finish off September in about as big a way as I possibly could – literally. Check out this video from November 1987, when an enormous blue whale, eighty feet long, washed ashore in Norway (not to be confused with its Scandinavian counterpart), way out there in coastal West Prince. With an eye to preserving it as a specimen for future scientific research, the whale was hauled off the beach and buried nearby. Twenty-one years later, in the Spring of 2008, it was exhumed by the University of British Columbia’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum and has since been added to its collection, the largest blue whale skeleton on display in the country. It’s a fascinating project and if you’d like to know more about it, you can fill your boots here.

Now, I feel obligated to point out that the whale in this video is dead, and there are a few instances of people jovially poking at it with their hands and feet. If that’s something you find disturbing, fair warning. Other than that, I leave you to it. Enjoy the show!

Cheers,

PEI History Guy