Bear Grylls routinely does things that could be called dumb. At least I think he does, because you never can tell how much is actually real. Like this example, courtesy of Shark Week.
Shark deterrents have captured people’s interest for ages. That’s because the prospect of being torn limb from limb by a hungry monster isn’t very appealing, despite the slim chances of it actually happening. There are more than a few deterrents on the market—most of them targeted at surfers—but few of them have any real scientific testing that proves much behind them. Take, for example, the surf wax made with eucalyptus, chili, cloves, and cayenne pepper. Or the deterrent that is just a magnet. No, they probably don’t work, but a fool and his money are soon parted, and there’s no salesman like a snake oil salesman.
Shark Week, purveyors of unnecessary fear, turned their spotlight on Bear Grylls. He, in classic Grylls fashion, decided to cover himself in fish guts and jump in with a bunch of bull sharks. First, however, he took a strange looking device down with a few docile hammerheads and tested the electric shock theory. And while the bull shark test is a little anti-climactic, watching Bear pour old fish juice over his head is well worth it.
