In this two hour special the Mythbusters team investigates a bunch of shark myths.
Eye Gouge
In this myth it is believed that if you are being attacked by a shark the best way to get a shark to release you is to hit the shark in the eye. The Mythbusters wonder if it is even possible to hit a shark in the eye while being attacked by a shark. To test that Adam and Jaime decide to make a model shark. They create a model shark which is life size or close to life size. They fill it with mechanical gear to gives it 6 points of motion so they can get a realistic shark attack motion. They then create steel teeth and rubber teeth for their two different tests. Finally they put an emergency stop in the shark’s eye. When it is completed it kind of resembles a mechanical bull but this ride takes place in the shark’s mouth. Their first test revolve around using the steel teeth to see if it has a realistic bite motion. They test it with a surfboard and a dead animal of some sort and they quickly realize that they shark is quite realistic. It now time to test the myth. SInce they both know about the emergency stop in the eyes they get Tory to test it out first. He finds the emergency stop but it takes him some time to actually hit it. Adam also tries it and it takes him a while as well. Adam and Jaime decide to declare the myth plausible since you will quickly realize to hit the shark in the eye but there is no way to tell if you could hit it quickly enough in order to save yourself.
Magnets Repel Sharks
One of the latest rumors about repelling sharks is that magnets work. The myth comes from the fact that sharks can detect electromagnetic fields (this is how they find their prey). Adam and Jaime head down to the bahamas to test out the myth. They begin by holding a magnet close to a small shark and they immediately see that the shark wants to get away. They then create a line in the water of magnets. The control (clay bricks) doesn’t seem to affect the shark. When the magnets are put down though the shark turns back as soon as it encounters the line. It seems like this myth is true but Adam and Jaime need to test it on bigger sharks first. They use crates full of fish to test it. They first put out a crate with no magnets to see how the sharks react without the magnets. They obviously tear into the crates to get the fish. They then put magnets in the crates but it doesn’t deter the sharks from eating the fish. It appears that magnets affect smaller sharks but does nothing to larger sharks so the myth is busted.
Playing Dead will Save Your Life
This myth actually comes from some sailors that used the myth to save their own lives. Their ship was destroyed in WWII and they were stuck in shark infested waters. The sailors that flapped around panicked were ate by the sharks but the sailors that pretended to be dead survived. Grant, Kari and Tory head to the Bahamas to test out the myth. first they get a bunch of sharks to come by their boat. Grant and Tory then put on protective gear and head out into the water. One of them plays dead while the other flaps around. They then switch so the make sure that the sharks just didn’t prefer one of them. In both tests it is proven that the sharks are more attracted to whoever was flapping around and pretty much ignored the person that was pretending to be dead. This myth is confirmed.
Dog Bait
This myth says that sharks are attracted to dogs. Grant, Kari, and Tory think it might be because of several reasons. It could be because of the smells that the dog gives off, the sound created by the doggie paddle, or even the sound of a dog barking. The team decides to build robo dog that resembles a dog, smells like a dog, barks like a dog, and even swims like a dog. The team uses Kari’s dog in order to get the swim motion and smells to be accurate. The team counts the sharks around their boat before and after putting robo dog into the water. Putting robo dog into the water doesn’t seem to really make a difference since they don’t really attract any more sharks and none of them appeared interested in robo dog.
Seeing Food Above the Surface
This quick myth that sharks can see food above the surface despite the fact that the way they usually detect food would work that well above the surface. Putting some fish on a pole outside the boat quickly shows that sharks are willing to jump out of the water to get food so they can sense potential food above the surface.
Fetal Flashlight
This myth says that if you are night diving, a flashlight will attract more sharks than not having a flashlight at all. This myth comes from the fact that sharks can detect electromagnetic fields. To test this myth Grant, Kari and Tory decide to go night diving two nights in a row. They will count the sharks each night and how interested they appear to have in them. The first night they only get 6 sharks and none of them seem that interested in them. The next night with the flashlights they get over twice as many sharks and the sharks are much more aggressive (one almost attacks Tory). It seems like this myth was confirmed but it ends up only being plausible since the flashlights could have actually lighted up the sharks prey and that is why there were more sharks and they were more aggressive.
Spicy Salsa
This myth actually comes from the Kuna Indians. They used to drop chilis into the water in order to keep sharks away from their boats. To test this myth Adam and Jaime make chili balloons. They then use crates of fish to see if the chili keeps the sharks away from the fish. They first use a water balloon to make the sharks aren’t scared off by the balloons. A shark eats the balloon right away so obviously they aren’t afraid of the balloon. They then test the chili balloons and they don’t really have an effect. This myth is obviously busted.
Flapping Fish
The final myth was actually tested in the path. This myth states that sharks are more interested in fish that are flapping (they are injured). In the past they tested it with sounds but they weren’t happy with the results so they decided to test it again. They first begin by having two fish on poles. They flap one of them and the other they keep still. The sharks ends up picking the flapping fish 6 out of 9 times. They think the sight of the fish and the fish blood might attract the sharks so they use a fake fish and enclose it is a cover so the sharks can’t see it. None of the sharks are attracted to the fish when it is in the cover. When Jaime uses the fake fish outside the cover the sharks become interested again. Adam and Jaime don’t get a whole lot out of the experiment. All they know for sure is that the shark needs more of its senses than just the flapping to sense the fish. They decide that the myth is plausible.
