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Shark bite specialThursday, July 31 2008 |
In an exciting new episode, the gang roll out the shark myths for Shark Week on Discovery.
This week Adam and Jamie see if they can escape the jaws of Jaws by gouging out its eyes, then they test a few myths about repelling sharks. Kari, Tory and Grant make themselves bait by jumping into the middle of hungry sharks.
it will only hurt a little.
Well, it's finally here, the new season of Mythbusters. Adam and Jamie kicked off the two hour special by testing the myth that gouging a shark's eyes will make the victim a less tasty treat.
Obviously, they couldn't gouge a real shark, so they ordered a Jaws replica and converted it to a killing machine. The shark was 17 feet long and toothless.
"Without teeth it looks like it's going to gum you to death," Jamie said.
They cut the shark, called Steve after the real Jaws robot, into sections and attached a steel frame and hinged spine. Thanks to Jamie's creativity, they used a hydrolic system that allowed the fiberglass shark to shake back and forth, bite down and survive in the water (an important variable).
Adam designed the head, complete with 90 sharp, serrated teeth and emergency stop buttons instead of eyes.
They suspended the shark in the water.While they waited for the tide to come in, they decided to test the bite of the shark. First , they put a surfboard in its mouth and determined the bites were similar in markings to a real shark. Next they used a pig to show what it would do to a human.
Adam realized the test may be a little inaccurate if he or Jamie were the victims - they already knew where to hit the dummy shark. Then Adam had a great idea, use Tory.
"We've seen what a shark does to a pig, now lets see what it does to Tory," Jamie said.
They only told him that he could shut it off, but not how. That way he would be thrashed around and have to find the right spot, a much more accurate and scary method.
After 15 seconds of thrashing, and a few pummels to the nose, Tory finally hit the eyes and shut it off.
Jamie pointed out that there were other concerns, like drowning or bleeding to death. Also, sharks attack and kill in a matter of seconds, so Jamie was unsure if 15 seconds would have been soon enough.
Next, Adam tried several different positions to see if it was more difficult to hit the eyes. His first position was like a swimmer, face down in the water.
"So, the shark bit Adam in the ass," Jamie said.
In this position, it was much more difficult to reach, or even find, the eyes. He did find them though. Next, he tried it with his legs down the shark's mouth. This time he was much quicker. For the last try, Adam was on his stomach again, but Jamie doubled the power. This doubled the speed, but again, Adam was eventually able to hit the eye.
MYTH PLAUSIBLE - depending on the particular circumstances of the attack.
For the next myth Grant, Kari and Tory tested a myth based on the reports of a seaman in WWII. He claimed that after the ship he was on was sunk, it was only by playing dead that he survived.
The U.S.S. Indianapolis was hit by an enemy torpedo and sunk, sending 900 seamen into the water. After five days only 317 of them survived. Joseph, the mentioned sailor, said it was playing dead that saved him.
For this myth, they crew headed to the Bahamas. The plan was to chum the water to get the sharks ready for food then Tory and Grant would jump in the water, one playing dead the other splashing around, then see which one the shark preferred.
The guys donned a protective, mail-like, armor and prepared to jump in.
"I hope they like sushi," Grant said.
"I hope you like Italian," Tory chimed in.
The theory was that the movement and raised heart rate attract the sharks. Grant was a little hesitant to jump in.
"This combines my phobia of open water and fish touching me at the same time," Grant said.
As the guys jumped in, Kari offered some words of encouragement, "I gotta' give you credit, I'd never do this."
They guys spent 10 minutes in the water. Grant played dead and Tory splashed around. The sharks went strait for Tory, leaving Grant alone completely.
"Thrash over that way, man," Grant said to Tory.
"You talk a lot for a dead guy," Tory said.
The first test seemed to prove the myth, but Kari, wanted to make sure it was the thrashing and not Tory that attracted the sharks, so she suggested the guys switch roles and try again.
"Damn you and your science," Grant said.
So, they tried again. This time it was Grant they went for.
"F***," Grant yelled. "Something just hit me."
"I think it was a shark," Kari offered.
MYTH CONFIRMED
For the next myth, Kari, Tory and Grant found out if flashlights would attract sharks.
They tried two tests, the control without lights and then again the following night in the same place at the same time with lights. They dove down to a shipwreck and stood on the deck, counting the sharks that swam up.
On the first dive, Kari saw a sea turtle; Tory saw four sharks and Grant saw two. With the flashlights, Kari saw another turtle, but also three sharks; Tory saw seven that time and Grant five.
MYTH CONFIRMED
Then it was back to Adam and Jamie to test a few myths about repelling sharks. First they tested magnets.
This myth is based on the fact that sharks have sensory organs called ampullae of Lorenzini, which are capable of detecting the electro-magnetic fields all living organisms emit.
First they tried a small scale test - a small magnet and a small shark. They used a young, captive nurse shark. A handler immobilized the shark by turning it upside down. Jamie then brought a magnet near the shark, and it bent away from the magnet. When the shark was upright, it bent away more violently and tried to escape from the handler.
To make sure it wasn't just a reaction to an object moving towards its eyes, they used a sheet of plastic to hide the approaching magnet from the shark’s vision. That time the shark tried to bite at the magnet through the sheet.
Then they tried another test. A shark was placed in a small pen. Then they placed a row of magnets to divide the pen in half. The shark would not swim over the magnets, but it did swim over a line of steel chunks used as a control.
The small scale test seemed to prove the myth, but there was one finaly test, full size sharks. For this test, the guys covered fish-filled bait boxes with strong neodymium magnets and submerged them in waters infested with adult lemon sharks. These sharks attacked the boxes aggressively, with the magnets and without.
MYTH BUSTED
The guys then tried chili peppers. The amount of chilies they used was equivalent to what is used in pepper spray.
Adam and Jamie puréed dozens of habanero chilies and used the resulting paste to fill balloons. The chilies were extraordinarily strong and had to be handled with gloves. Despite this, Jamie couldn't turn down a dare from the crew and decided to try a drop.
"That was just a drop and it's slowly going everywhere in my mouth, burning like a fire," Jamie said.
They filled the balloons with the chilies and water, to make them more noticeable to the sharks. The balloons were then attached to bait boxes. Adam built a hydrolic needle to pop the balloons, but his efforts were in vain because the sharks went right for the balloons.
They used a water balloon for the control and the shark ate it. Next, they used one of the chili balloons. The shark ate this too and it had no noticeable affect. The smaller fish in the water ate the bits of chilie and were also unaffected.
MYTH BUSTED
Grant, Kari and Tory decided to find out if a paddling dog would attract sharks.
They couldn't use a real dog, for obvious safety concerns, so Grant had to build a robodog.
They started by filming Kari's dog, Gertie, swimming in a makeshift tank. Then Grant made an air powered motor that allowed four hinged legs to mimic swimming doggy-style.
To increase the likelihood that it would be noticed, they equipped the dog with a waterproof barking speaker and three remote controlled syringes that release dog blood, urine and anal scents into the water.
First they found a spot full of sharks and counted them. The next day they went back to the same place with robodog. After five minutes of not being noticed, the crew released the scents.
Although a few sharks showed up when the blood was released, there were no more than the day before.
MYTH BUSTED
The last myth was to see if sharks were more attracted to flapping fish or dead ones. The guys tested this myth before using an electronic device that matched the frequency of a flapping fish, but to no avail.
This time they decided to scrap the electronics - Jamie climbed into a small raft with two lines. There were fish on both lines, one stationary the other being shaken by Jamie.
The sharks attacked the moving fish six of nine tries, but the guys weren't satisfied with that. They pointed out that the sharks could be attracted to the smell and sight of fish as well as the movement.
Jamie decided to use fake fish, surrounded by a net - this would eliminate any variable but movement. The sharks were attracted to the noise, but didn't attack.
Jamie then removed the net so they could see AND hear the fish. That time they attacked. The guys concluded that the splashing attracted the sharks, but it was the sight and smell that caused them to attack.
MYTH PLAUSIBLE
The lengthy new episode was a fitting opening to a new season. Stay tuned next Wednesday for another new, exciting episode. Until then.
