Julia Child made shark repellent

I heard a podcast today about a book on Julia Child’s time in the OSS. That led me to look up her bio on Wikipedia. I was surprised to see this...

When Child was asked to solve the problem of too many OSS underwater explosives being set off by curious sharks, "Child's solution was to experiment with cooking various concoctions as a shark repellent," which were sprinkled in the water near the explosives and repelled sharks.[11] Still in use today, the experimental shark repellent "marked Child's first foray into the world of cooking...

Very interesting, 
But since she isn't sharing the recipe ...
I decided to purchase a Shark Shield.
;0)

After trying over 100 different substances—including common poisons—the researchers found several promising possibilities: extracts from decayed shark meat, organic acids, and several copper salts, including copper sulphate and copper acetate. After a year of field tests, the moTo create the repellent, copper acetate was mixed with black dye, which was then formed into a little disk-shaped “cake” that smelled like a dead shark when released into the water. These cakes could be stored in small 3-inch boxes with metal screens that allowed the repellent to be spread either st effective repellent was copper acetate.

According to several memos from mid-to-late 1943, bait tests showed copper acetate to be over 60% effective in deterring shark bites. Other field tests showed even more promising results. Unfortunately, the copper acetate was deemed completely ineffective in deterring attacks from the other carnivorous fish of concern to the Armed Forces: barracudas and piranhas.

To create the repellent, copper acetate was mixed with black dye, which was then formed into a little disk-shaped “cake” that smelled like a dead shark when released into the water. These cakes could be stored in small 3-inch boxes with metal screens that allowed the repellent to be spread either manually or automatically when submerged in water. The box could be attached to a life jacket or belt, or strapped to a person’s leg or arm, and was said to keep sharks away for 6 to 7 hours.

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2015-featured-story-archive/shark-repellent.html

Very interesting, 
But since she isn't sharing the recipe ...
I decided to purchase a Shark Shield.
;0)

Not true. Copper Acetate.

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2015-featured-story-archive/shark-repellent.html

Guess I'll have to double up on the protection,
Electro shock and dead shark scent ......
;0)

She's pretty good at the filet table also:

~Bouché

This is fascinating Traildad, thanks for the post. What was the podcast you were listening to? I’d enjoy giving it a listen.

This is fascinating Traildad, thanks for the post. What was the podcast you were listening to? I’d enjoy giving it a listen.

John Batchelor. He does a lot of politics, current events and foreign affairs from a conservative point of view. He interviews authors mostly for his weekend shows.