Sharks think many of us are food, which technically we are, but I don't want to be eaten. Maybe we should consider what sharks don't eat, like lion fish or other toxic fish/creatures.

My idea is a device that, when a shark comes by, can be quickly retrieved and used against the shark. It doesn't contain a shotgun shell or a spike, but contains chemicals that the shark doesn't like. The chemical deterrents will be encapsulated into shells that break only when bitten, so that you're not just intoxicating yourself when you bring it out. Maybe shaped like a fish fin or something, it would be held out in front of the shark. If it bites, the chemicals will release, giving you a "bad taste". A sticky residue will allow the taste to linger in the shark's mouth, teaching him that humans are yucky.

No batteries required, no moving parts.

Something else that this could be incorporated into is underwater cabling. If a shark were to learn that these things taste bad, they would not even try. Laden underwater cables with these capsules nested within a mesh, but allow a trace scent to linger in the water, warning the shark that this is yucky to eat.
-- twitch, Nov 23 2010

the halfbakery has already, sadly, found the perfect solution Disposable_20Anti-S...0Attack_20Surfboard
[calum, Nov 24 2010]

This assumes that you see the shark coming, and that you have some means of holding this thing out in front of the shark without sacrificing your hands.

Allegedly, most sharks don't much like the taste of human flesh anyway. It is for this reason (or so I have read) that most shark victims are not actually eaten; rather, the shark takes a taster bite, then goes away. Unfortunately, a taster bite from a large shark is often fatal.
-- pertinax, Nov 24 2010


So this is the polar opposite of the "dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians" ideology.
-- MikeD, Nov 24 2010


I think Batman did this in aerosol form way back in the '60s when he utilises his shark repellent bat spray (one from a selection of Oceanic Repellent Bat Sprays kept in the Batcopter. Including; Barracuda, Whale, Manta Ray and Shark) to ward off an exploding shark.
-- zen_tom, Nov 24 2010


Where's [normzone]? He might know something about this. Failing that, he might have some chocolate dip.
-- pertinax, Nov 25 2010


my idea is for an encapsulated idea... I'm fine with batman using something indiscriminately, but if it were mass-produced, i'd prefer something that would only be disbursed when absolutely needed.
-- twitch, Nov 25 2010



random, halfbakery