# What is the origin of the phrase "Nuke The Whales"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151 "2017-07-26T11:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/21 "2017-07-27T02:37:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I guess that I don’t understand how the viewer plots references then. You have to set “smoothing” to zero to see the actual data points. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/22 "2017-07-27T02:40:22Z")
I’m not sure I ever saw it, but from the same era, I heard of a similar bumper sticker that used the “club” symbol from a deck of cards to say “I Club Baby Seals”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/23 "2017-07-27T04:00:38Z")
I’m sure “Nuke the gay whales” as a mainstream saying protesting the endless protesting dates from my high school era. Which was from 1972-1976 in SoCal; that leading edge of all things consciousness-raising. > [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > I’m not sure I ever saw it, but from the same era, I heard of a similar bumper sticker that used the “club” symbol from a deck of cards to say “I Club Baby Seals”. I recall later in college when the “I \ whatever” bumper stickers became a thing. A plain white sticker with black block lettering and a bright red heart shape. Suddenly every dog owner had one for their specific breed. Of course at the same time we also saw “I \”: NY, LA, my kids, my Suburu, my bunny, parakeet, etc. _ad nauseum_. Folks were trying very hard to be individuals by all doing the same thing at once. Anyhow, certain subversives sold white round stickers about the size of the typical bumper sticker \ symbol. Which contained a drawing of a large wood screw. I installed quite a few of those on cars’ stickers around my campus. Such fun. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/24 "2017-07-27T04:07:19Z")
I graduated from High School in 1976. On graduation day, my friend’s Jeep had a custom made bumper sticker that said “Nuke the Gay Whales for Jesus”. He got a lot of flack for it, but that was the point. The Gay movement was just starting & they were brash & rude, in your face people. The Jesus people wanted to “save” you from your “wicked ways”. The Anti-Nuke folks were taking over government facilities. The environmentalists were screaming about everything under the sun going to cause the end of the world. If it wasn’t the polluted rivers & lakes, it was the killing of whales, or it was Global Cooling! Some folks, myself included, were just fed up with all of that noise. Hell, we just wanted to be left alone to live our lives without some one preaching to us about their favorite cause. In response to all that crap, my friend paid to have that bumper sticker made. He just wanted to rile up all of the folks who wanted to preach at us about their favorite dooms day scenario. He figured that riling them up was fair, as that was what they were trying to do to us. I can not say I wanted one for my bike, but I did like his & laughed with him at the folks who got really stirred up over a silly bumper sticker. Get a grip folks! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/25 "2017-07-27T04:11:29Z")
> [@LightWithoutHeattttttttttttttt](#): > > I remember seeing bumper stickers in the 80s that were an amalgam of many common bumper stickers at the time. They read “Nuke a gay whale for Jesus”. Or “Nuke the unborn gay baby whales”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/26 "2017-07-27T04:13:07Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > You have to set “smoothing” to zero to see the actual data points. Thanks. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m sure “Nuke the gay whales” as a mainstream saying protesting the endless protesting dates from my high school era. Which was from 1972-1976 in SoCal; that leading edge of all things consciousness-raising. There were lots of bumper stickers in that era subverting popular feel-good sayings, such as “Have you slugged your kid today?” (instead of “Have you hugged your kid today?”). > [@](#): > > I recall later in college when the “I \ whatever” bumper stickers became a thing. A plain white sticker with black block lettering and a bright red heart shape. Suddenly every dog owner had one for their specific breed. Of course at the same time we also saw “I \”: NY, LA, my kids, my Suburu, my bunny, parakeet, etc. _ad nauseum_. Folks were trying very hard to be individuals by all doing the same thing at once. The origin of “I♥[whatever]” is well documented. It started with the [I♥NY campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_New_York) in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/27 "2017-07-27T04:50:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > … > The origin of “I♥[whatever]” is well documented. It started with the [I♥NY campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_New_York) in 1977. Cool. Thanks. As an LA kid I never knew where/how it started. Makes sense it was a deliberate promotion that “went viral” as we now say. My favorite subverting-the-feel-good bumper sticker nowadays is one I first saw here in Florida 30-ish years ago when I started flying down to here regularly: “❤ NY? I-95N!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/28 "2017-07-27T05:17:58Z")
It was certainly around circa 1978 or possibly earlier. At least, 1978 was when “nuke the whales” or “nuke the grey whales” made the rounds. Not forgetting the corollary “Nuke the Harpies”. I remember making a “nuke the harpies” t shirt for a high school buddy in 1978. What the origin is, I couldn’t tell you, but it was extant in bumfuck northern California by 1978. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/29 "2017-07-27T13:24:20Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > [snip] … What the origin is, I couldn’t tell you, but it was extant in bumfuck northern California by 1978. I agree with this … seems like the “Nuke the Whales” campaign had run it’s course by 1979 … we were into the “Jews never lost it”, “LA stinks” and “Just say mo’” bumper stickers by then … “bumfuck northern California” … please … it’s the State of Jefferson if you don’t mind … [giggle] … ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/30 "2017-07-27T13:37:35Z")
> [@LightWithoutHeattttttttttttttt](#): > > I remember seeing bumper stickers in the 80s that were an amalgam of many common bumper stickers at the time. They read “Nuke a gay whale for Jesus”. “Nuke the gay whales, for Christ’s sake” is a phrase I remember from the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/31 "2017-07-27T13:53:51Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Just because the phrase was used by a rock band that year, or picked up by Robert Anton Wilson, doesn’t mean it wasn’t circulating before that. The [Google ngram viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Nuke+the+Whales&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CNuke%20the%20Whales%3B%2Cc0) gives the first published instance in a book as 1976. It started to rise precipitously in 1979. Yeah, what I said. I saw it on a tee shirt I’m sure before 1979. And as subsequent posts noted, internet tools to find historical references to stuff are limited. If it’s something in living memory, people’s memories might actually be a better way to find it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/32 "2017-07-27T14:45:24Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > Yeah, what I said. I saw it on a tee shirt I’m sure before 1979. And as subsequent posts noted, internet tools to find historical references to stuff are limited. If it’s something in living memory, people’s memories might actually be a better way to find it. 🙂 People’s memories are very untrustworthy when it comes to questions like this, unfortunately. I think a reference _from_ the 70’s would be preferable to a memory _about_ the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/33 "2017-07-27T15:33:19Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > A link above said it originated in a song written in 1979 (the link says an article in 1979 first referred to it, but other web sources say the song itself was written that year) but I too heard it before that, somewhere around 1977. A friend of mine had a ‘Nuke the gay baby whales’ tee shirt, might have been before or after '77, I only met him in '75 and it wasn’t right away, but it was before '79. [“Nuke The Whales” by The Fleshapoids(1979)](http://www.madmusic.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=7719), only released as a single. This site has a sample of the music and the full lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/34 "2017-07-27T15:50:41Z")
Not quite what the OP had in mind, but National Lampoon had a bit in 1977 about Humpback Whales afflicted with TF (terminal flatulence). The punchline was _“Send a contribution to: Save The Whales before they blast themselves out of existence.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/35 "2017-07-27T23:22:36Z")
If you want to be reminded just how untrustworthy people’s memories are, look up the SDMB thread about the so-called alternate ending to the movie _Big_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/36 "2017-07-28T18:41:04Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > If you want to be reminded just how untrustworthy people’s memories are, look up the SDMB thread about the so-called alternate ending to the movie _Big_. Or all the different origins of “The whole nine yards”. ---
**Author:** ![Badley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@Badley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badley)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/37 "2025-01-17T17:21:44Z")
The Fleshapoids of San Francisco released a 45 of Nuke the Whales in the summer of 1979. The song was registered with the library of congress in Nov. of that year. It was written by Badley Newscomb. The Fleshapoids performed it starting in May of 1979. I was played on the Dr. memento radio show the same year. I have the official document from the library of congress dated Oct 2 1979. The song was performed publicly well before that. I challenge anyone to offer proof of previous publication of Nuke the Whales. ---
**Author:** ![Badley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@Badley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badley)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/38 "2025-01-17T17:23:53Z")
The Fleshapoids certificate of registration with The Library of Congress is dated Oct 2, 1979. ---
**Author:** ![Badley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@Badley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badley)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/39 "2025-01-17T17:43:53Z")
The song “Nuke the Whales” came to public attention in the spring of 1979 when the song by that name was released. It was officially registered with the Library of Congress Oct.2, 1979, but publicly performed well before that date. It was on Dr. Demento’s radio playlist about the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151/40 "2025-01-17T17:56:39Z")
And don’t forget to [shoot the seals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MlpT8oGHCo). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-nuke-the-whales/792151.md?page=3)