Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/03/shark-bites-boy-wearing-shar.html
…
6 Likes
Alternate headline: Magical thinking ends with predictable result.
[insert ICP meme here]
46 Likes
But how was his balance? Or his arthritis?
33 Likes
The most car sick I ever was was the time that we tried those Sea-Band things instead of anti-nausea medicine.
12 Likes
Heh, that New and Improved version of Jaws is really new and improved. Thanks Rob!
12 Likes
66 Likes
Sounds like the product is not the shark repellent device that has an active electrical device that creates a field that will drive the shark away. At least that’s what seems to be the case, if it is shame on the company for slapping magnets on a band and calling it good.
6 Likes
15 Likes
It’s not total bullshit. There are electromagnetic shark repellents that seem to work:
This particular one just happens to be a bad product.
5 Likes
I really don’t care to research the one in the article, but assumption is that it’s a regular magnet. Rather than an electomagnet. Maybe i’m wrong, but feeling lazy today 
3 Likes
Yeah, they might be deliberately selling crap, but it’s sciency enough to be believed. That’s the worst part about this.
5 Likes
As you pointed out above, the actual proper technology works remarkably well. If one were to couple this with wetsuits and boards that have the anti-shark patterning i would imagine it’d help reduce the risk even further (they help break up the swimmer/board silhouette so it looks less like prey to the shark).
10 Likes
I’m feeling a smidge less lazy…they’re static magnets.
14 Likes
I think if anything entitled one to a refund, this would be it.
25 Likes
I still would have bet against the kid getting bitten by a shark, if only because it’s so rare for people to be bitten by sharks. (The people marketing this product know this and were just playing the odds.)
29 Likes
Surely that’s why the pitch works, what it depends upon: people generally understand that sharks are sensitive to magnetic fields. But they don’t understand how strong the field needs to be, that batteries have to be involved, and that practically speaking we’re talking about a $700 product so bulky it’s mostly sold in the form of a surfboard.
Laser pointers and death stars, my friend! taps nose conspiratorially
21 Likes
and a very large settlement.
12 Likes
Never jump out of an airplane unless your parachute comes with a money-back guarantee.
11 Likes
