Artifact Friday: Shark Chaser

For a pilot in World War II, few things were as terrifying as getting shot down. For pilots

in the Pacific theatre, that fear was compounded by the presence of sharks. To combat this,

aviators and sailors were equipped with a cake of copper acetate and dark-colored dye. This

wax-sealed chemical, deemed “shark chaser” was attached to life jackets extensively throughout

1943 and well into the 1970s. The copper acetate would mimic the scent of a dead shark and act

as a warning to all nearby sharks of danger. The dark coloring of the dye would also confuse the

sharks as, despite their incredibly strong sense of smell, their eyesight is the shark’s primary

sense. It was estimated that this shark chaser had a 70% success rate although the exact numbers

are somewhat debated. Some people believe that shark chaser not only didn’t work as often as

claimed but sometimes even attracted sharks. Seeing as many species of shark will cannibalize

their own kind, it is not unreasonable to claim the scent of dead shark would not be a true

deterrent. The sinking of the USS Indianapolis is also a heated debate point as it occurred in

1945, well after the implementation of shark chaser, yet was also declared the worst shark attack in history.

The inventor of this shark repellent was none other than Julia Child. Before Child had her

television cooking show, she was under the employment of the Office of Strategic Services

(OSS). The OSS faced a problem with sharks. Seeing as sharks are naturally curious, they tended

to inspect explosives meant for submarines. This would subsequently set off the explosives,

wasting the carefully crafted devices. Although that specific shark would not be repeating that

mistake, other sharks continued to set off ordinance. This is seen as Julia Child’s first adventure

with cooking as she mixed several chemicals together

and sprinkled them around the ordinance to

repel sharks. Of all the chemicals she tried, Child seemed convinced that copper acetate was the

key and thus invented Shark Repellent. The OSS would go on to use it for protecting people and equipment. Between her Shark Chaser and her intelligence service in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) and Kunming, China, Child would receive the Meritorious Civilian Service Award among other honors.

This artifact has the name "Buaer". If you happen to know who this belongs to, please contact Hallie at cartwrighth.aamm@gmail.com