Shark attack victim returns to surf with prosthesis

CNN.com - Then & Now: Bethany Hamilton - Jun 22, 2005

 

The real story is that it was a bunny that tore his leg off, but he was too embarrassed to admit it, so he made up the story about the shark. Ever since Jaws, people will believe any injury was caused by a shark. There are still people who believe that J.F.K. was actually shot by a shark.

 

I thought that Dave said that sharks were killers. They aren't killers, they are just playing catch and release. :madgrin:

 

Souvenirs.

 

Yes, they do. They spit them out.

 

Daniel, I dare you to swim in the Adelaide beach during our summer months. Please remember, only swim between the flags.

 

Out of one end or the other.

Tom

 

I'm not scared of the sharks. It's the jellyfish that terrify me! Not to mention the salt-water crocodiles. And the bunnies! Oz is overrun with bunnies!

 

We do not have Stinging Jellyfish in South Australian waters. We do not have crocodiles in South Australian waters. The bunnies are really not a problem, they will not kill you. But Sharks, they are different kettle of fish, they will eat you, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Always remember, SWIM BETWEEN THE FLAGS.

 

What about the cane toads?

 

According to Diver's Alert network, sharks kill ten people a year, worldwide. Coke machines kill more. Domestic dogs kill far more than that. But bunnies will rip your legs off.

What's the water temperature at your beaches? I wear a wet suit at 28 degrees Celsius, and colder than 25 I won't even go in.

We saw a cane toad on Frasier Island. It was dead. A death adder had bitten it. The death adder was dead also, by the side of the toad. Let that be a lesson to you! Don't bite a cane toad. Better yet, stay away from Australia. They have far too many bunnies.

 

Expose as many people to sharks that are exposed to coke machines and maybe the sharks would do better.

 

An awful lot of people hit the water in a year, world-wide. And what's really telling is that outfits that take people out specifically to swim with sharks, and search out the sharks do not account for any of the rare attacks.

What skews our perception is that every single shark bite gets world-wide press. What do you suppose it would be like if every single auto accident fatality got world-wide press attention? Say, every single newspaper and every single TV news show gave ten column inches or three minutes to every auto accident victim? There would not be enough trees in the Amazon to print the papers, or enough time in the day to broadcast the news shows!

The result is that people are willing to take a million times greater risk in their car than in the water. Every single minute you spend in a car is more dangerous than a week in the water. I'd like to see statistics about how many surfers are killed by sharks, compared to how many die in other types of surfing accidents, such as hitting rocks or drowning.

 

If you swim with the bunnies, expect to get nibbled!
My foolproof way of swimming here in the red triangle is to take an anchovy pizza out with me as sacrificial bait. Works! Haven't been bit yet.

 

This time of the year it is freezing. I wouldn't go in either. During the summer the sea water is quite warm. You do not need a wet suit to go swimming.
We are trying to keep the cane toads out of South Australia. They are disgusting, worse than bunnies!

 

We use the same technique here in the Great Lakes, and so far there have been no reported shark attacks. The system must work.

Tom