A Florida-based company by the name of Sharklet (yes, I laughed at the name too) came up with this plastic film which “is covered with microscopic diamond-shaped bumps” that prevent all sorts of nasties from building up. It’s headed off for FDA testing to be approved for hospital use, but so far it’s proven to work pretty well in tests and we’ll be seeing it on bathroom door knobs and similar surfaces. Just don’t use that as an excuse to skip washing your hands, please. [Pop Sci]

The WASP knife is more compact and versatile than a spear gun or rifle, but it just might be even more deadly. Should you find yourself in the company of an aggressive shark, a stab from this knife will inject compressed gas into the victim which will expand, freeze and explode internal organs. [Link]

For years, surfers have sworn by the Shark Shield as an effective method of deterring sharks. The unit attaches to a surfboard and supposedly emits low grade electrical signals that screw with a shark’s muscles. However, in at least one case, the effectiveness of the device has come into serious question. [Shark Shield]

One of the latest methods of repelling sharks comes in the form of these alloy ingots. Specifically designed to protect sharks from being killed by fishing gear, this alloy emits a mild electric current when exposed to salt water. After a few days, the metal will transform into a harmless white precipate that will fall to the ocean floor. Nothing is 100 per cent effective, but fishermen claim that it has reduced the catch of slow-moving sharks by as much as 64%. [Repel Sharks]

If you are a fisherman in search for a decent fly wheel, keep in mind that one of Abel’s reels managed to haul in a 150-pound great white off the coast of California. [Link]

Remember that old Batman movie where Adam West blew up a shark with some Bat Spray? As completely ridiculous as that was, a similar product actually exists in the form of this RS-A-1 canister. When dropped, the can will sink and then slowly rise as it emits a cloud of chemical repellent. Designed to affect a shark’s sense of smell, the manufacturer claims it will buy you around 15 minutes of protection. [Repel Sharks]

What’s up spaceman? Neptunic suits look like something a 1960’s test pilot would wear, but they are actually designed for underwater use. Made from a liquid crystal polymer fibre, the suits are extremely bite resistant. [Netptunic]

Notoriously finicky, Bruce was really a collection of three $US150,000 mechanical sharks that were each capable of only a modest range of movement (one went left-to-right, one went right-to-left and one exclusively did underwater scenes). Why could two of the sharks only swim one way? Because the non-camera-friendly side was nothing but exposed gears. From Time:

Bruce was fairly programmed for mishap. In order to use him, a twelve-ton steel platform, to which the mechanical shark was attached by a 100-ft.-long umbilical cable, had to be sunk to the ocean floor. The controls on the platform were operated by 13 technicians wearing scuba equipment.

Bruce sank when he made his debut. During his second test on water his hydraulic system exploded. “That shark,” says Producer Brown, “was like owning a yacht. We had to dredge a place for it to rest, we had to park it, guard it, stroke it, hide it from the public.”

Bruce caused delays for the open water shoot which skyrocketed Jaws‘ budget to $US7 million (about $US27 million today). Of course, Jaws would eventually be widely recognised as the world’s first summer blockbuster as it’s since made $US470 million (or $US1.9 billion today).

This shot is a scale model replica of Bruce complete with his underwater mechanisms. You can see more official props from Jaws here. [Time][Lead Image]

Considering all the recent press about shark attacks, all they need to do now is program this roboshark to attack other sharks in a mindless frenzy in order to keep our beaches safe. Finally, a robot uprising we can endorse…

[via news.com.au]

At the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, there’s a shark tank right next to the waterslide. Somehow, one of the sharks managed to jump out of its tank and onto the slide. Luckily, there was no one on the slide at the time (although that would have been absolutely amazing, especially if the shark was wearing sunglasses for some reason), but unfortunately for the shark the water in the slide pool was highly chlorinated to kill all the tourist pee that inevitably gathers in such bodies of water. The chlorine ended up doing the shark in before they could get it back to its tank. [TMZ]

[Discovery]

Yeah, not only did this thing not keep sharks away, but it actually attracted the attention of a 12-foot great white enough that it mistook it for a tasty snack. Luckily, it was on a buoy and not a surfboard at the time.

The device uses electrical waves to give sharks some uncomfortable muscle contractions, at least in theory. The problem is, there’s speculation afoot that the electrical waves designed to repel sharks actually attract them. Yeah, that’s no good. The manufacturer claims that it’ll work just fine as long as you aren’t surfing, paddling, or moving at all, however. Uh, sold? [The Australian via Uberreview]