For those of you who wish it was Shark Week every week, here's an update on the legendary Neptunic Sharksuit developed by inventor Jeremiah Sullivan: You can now rent the newest C Suit for 'special research projects' or you can actually rent a whole stunt crew that will show you how to feed the sharks gently. Of course, the price is likely extremely high (we're waiting on an estimate) and you might need to have your own science/nature production show in order to be approved, but knowing this is an option in our lives is exciting enough.
The C Suit Sharksuit provides protection from shark bites, and is the latest result from twenty years of safety research through thousands of crazy biting tests. Miraculously, they've never led to any 'significant' injuries. Mr. Sullivan has been a pioneer in the creation of these suits since the early 80's and his suit has appeared in the Discovery Channel's Shark Week presentations. The original suit was made of a heavy mesh and a rigid understructure weighing about 18 pounds and over the years, materials have included steel mesh, high tech fiber, titanium and hybrid laminates. According to Neptunic's research on electro-reception, they found that 'sharks did not like the galvanic currents created by metals in sea water,' which led to the use of chain maille mesh for the C suit. It also includes steel, polycarbonate, nylon webbing, and its measurements are 182,88 x 91,44 x 30,48 cm (HxWxD). A chain maille mesh is made out of small metal rings linked together in a pattern.
While the C suit cannot prevent broken bones due to the force of the bite of certain sharks, like the Great White, it will prevent teeth from penetrating the skin. You can see a video of the C Suit in action at Neptunic's site.
