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Written by river95
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Tuesday, 26 August 2008 |
Shark Bites Extravaganza (Shark Week Special #2)
Original Air Date: July 27, 2008
Shark Bites
The Myth: Eye Gouge
If a shark were attacking you, would you really have time and the ability to poke it in the eyes before becoming lunch?
The Experts:
Adam and Jamie
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Adam (to Jamie): Let me set the scene – you’re on the open ocean and a shark comes along and mistakes you for a walrus, ‘cause anyone could…
The Action/Results:
Adam orders a fiberglass mold of a great white shark, and then he and Jamie modify it for the myth. Adam creates two sets of teeth for the shark – one set that is steel, and one set that is rubber. Jamie creates the hydraulic system used to move the creature, and they both work on giving it a steel spine and steel jaws so that it can thrash and move like a real shark. Adam then gives the shark eyes that function as stop switches, so that, if someone is able to gouge the shark’s eyes, it will stop thrashing.
Once the pieces are all put together, they take Bruce out to San Francisco Bay, and test him by having him chomp down on the surfboard Jamie used as a hoverboard several seasons ago. Bruce makes a set of teeth marks that are very similar to pictures that the guys have seen of surfboards that have been bitten by sharks. Next, they put a dead pig in the mouth of Roboshark, so that they can see if he looks realistic enough, and he does. Then it is time for some human testing.
They switch out the metal teeth, put in the rubber ones, and call for Tory. He is told that he has to get in the shark’s mouth, and find a way to stop the shark from thrashing him around. There is a way to do it, but he doesn’t know what that way is. He gets in the shark’s mouth, Jamie powers up the hydraulics, and Bruce starts thrashing! Tory starts thrashing too – looking for something to push or pull to make the shark stop. He does manage to poke the eyes, and the shark does stop moving around. Now that the shark has been proven not dangerous, Adam declares that it is his turn. He gets into the shark’s mouth in a classic swimmer’s position, and has to really work to be able to push the button, but he can do it. Then he tries a different position, with his body going down into the shark’s mouth. Again, it is difficult, but he does manage to hit the eyes and stop the shark. Jamie increases the voltage to the shark for one last test, but again, Adam manages to hit the eyes, after a struggle.
This myth is ruled PLAUSIBLE.
The Myth: Play Dead
If you fall in the water with sharks, they will leave you alone if you play dead.
The Experts:
Kari, Tory, and Grant
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Grant (after being told that he has to get back in the water again): Oh, damn you and your science!
Tory (while supposedly playing dead): I died! I died of a bad disease! You don’t want to eat me! I got rigor mortis! I taste terrible – just very tough!
Kari: Here, sharkie, sharkie!
The Action/Results:
The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed during World War Two by a Japanese submarine. Many sailors died, but those who survived said that playing dead kept them from being eaten. This story is also referred to in the movie Jaws.
To test this myth, they go to the Bahamas, chum a section of water, and send in some safety divers. Then Tory goes in thrashing around, and Grant plays dead. The sharks come and investigate Tory, while they ignore Grant. After ten minutes, Kari calls the boys in, and gives them a break. Then, in the name of scientific accuracy, she sends them out again, with Grant thrashing, and Tory playing dead. Again, the sharks are interested in the thrashing, and leave the “dead” swimmer alone.
Myth CONFIRMED
The Myth: Animal Magnetism
Magnets repel sharks.
The Experts:
Dr. Samuel Gruber is a marine scientist from the University of Miami, and he helps the guys test this myth.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Jamie (in response to Adam’s ideas about applying magnetism to repelling sharks): Hold on there, cowboy!
The Action/ Results:
Dr. Samuel Gruber first helps Adam and Jamie test this myth in a smaller scale. He holds a shark upside down underwater, and puts it into tonic immobility, where it will not move or do much of anything unless acted upon by a strong force, like a magnet. When Jamie brings the magnet close to the shark, it bends away. They try the experiment again, this time with a card in front of the shark’s eye, and this time the shark tries to bite the magnet. A third experiment is tried, in which a nurse shark is swimming up and down a narrow enclosure. When a line of lead weights is placed in the enclosure, the shark swims right over them, but when magnets are put in the enclosure, the shark will not swim across the top of them. Finally, the guys go back out to Tiger Beach. They prepare two bait boxes – one with magnets, and one without. The sharks attack each box in turn, and the magnets do not seem to bother them at all.
This myth is BUSTED.
The Myth: Dog Bait
Dogs attract sharks.
The Experts:
Dr. Michael Moran is a veterinarian who helps Kari to obtain the various scents needed for the myth.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Grant (to Tory): Tory! Tory, stay!
The Action/Results:
Tory, Grant and Kari decide to build a robot dog to test whether dogs attract sharks. In order to do this correctly, they need to see how a real dog swims, so that they can build a mechanical one that will act the same. That is where Kari’s dog, Gertie, comes in. They build a small tank, fill it with water, and coax Gertie to swim from one end to the other, while being filmed by the high-speed camera. Then, they use this film as a guide, so that they can make Robodog swim in the same way. Robodog also gets a waterproof speaker, so that he can bark while swimming, and a set of syringes that are used to squirt out various smelly dog substances during the test.
Once in the Bahamas, they go out to a location and count how many sharks they see at a given time. They don’t chum the water or anything – they just count the sharks. They see 15 sharks in this area at this time. The next day, they come back and put Robodog to the test. When they put Robodog in the water, the sharks don’t appear interested. They don’t react to his presence at all. When they push the plunger that allows some dog blood to leak out, some more sharks show up, and they do swim a bit closer to Robodog, but that is about it – no attack.
This myth is BUSTED.
The Myth: Fatal Flashlight
The electromagnetic field given off by flashlights attracts sharks.
The Experts:
Kari. Grant, and Tory
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Kari: I want to see that the sharks are more aggressive when they see the flashlights… (thinks)… Change that – I don’t want to actually see them get more aggressive. That’s just what would have to be if the myth were confirmed.
The Action/Results:
Kari, Tory, and Grant go down to a wreck with minimal lighting, and count how many sharks they see in 20 minutes. They count 6 sharks. The idea is that the flashlights will attract sharks, because sharks have sensors that do detect changes in the electromagnetic field. The next day, the team comes back, and goes down to the wreck again – this time with flashlights. They see 14 sharks, and after 15 minutes, the sharks are becoming aggressive, and the decision is made to get out of the water before anything dangerous happens to the cast or crew.
This myth is PLAUSIBLE.
The Myth: Spicy Salsa Shark Shield
Do habanero chilis protect you from sharks?
The Experts:
Tory, Grant and Kari
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Rob Lee: What’s efficient, king of his domain, and over 400 million years old? No, not Jamie!
The Action/ Results:
Jamie and Adam tell us that a certain tribe of Native American people used to protect themselves from shark attack by using habanero chilis as a deterrent. Habaneros register at 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units. Adam purees a bunch of habaneros, and Jamie tests a drop on his tongue. He says that fire is spreading throughout his mouth, so this should be plenty hot enough to scare off a shark. Adam fills some special biodegradable balloons with the chili and some water, and then takes them down to the depths. They attach a plain water balloon to the chum box, and a shark bites it before they can puncture it. So, they attach one of the chili balloons to the chum box, and the sharks bite it, too. They show no reaction, and Rob Lee explains that sharks are not affected by capsaicin.
This myth is BUSTED.
The Myth: Flapping Fish
Is the sound of a flapping fish enough to attract them?
The Experts:
Jamie and Adam
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Adam: It’s definitely a party under the flapping fish boat!
The Action/Results:
Jamie wants to test the flapping fish myth again – this time, with actual flapping fish. So, he gets on a little dinghy, rows out away from the dive boat, and dangles two fish in the water. Both fish are on poles. Jamie flaps one, and holds the other still. Adam observes from below. In this first test, the sharks bite the flapping fish 6 times, and the non-flapping fish 3 times. Jamie suggests that the sharks might be reacting to the smell or the sight of the fish, so they make a shield and use a plastic fish to flap. This time, lots of sharks investigate the plastic flapping fish, and more sharks show up.
This myth is ruled PLAUSIBLE.
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Episode Descriptions 
