For NatGeo's #SharkWeek: the Batman 1966 Shark Repellent Bat Spray

I'm reminded of this every year during Shark Week - in the clip below, Adam West's 1966 Batman fends off an angry about-to-explode shark with a can of shark repellent spray. That scene was actually rather faithful to the early Batman comics, which show that the Dark Knight does, indeed, carry around a can of shark repellent with him at all times. You know, just in case.

So, Batman is hanging from the Bat-copter (on the Bat-ladder) and is attacked by an about-to-explode shark. He wrestles with it for a bit and tries a few ineffectual Bat-punches to the shark’s head and body, then grabs his Bat-radio and asks Robin to throw him down a can of Shark Repellent Bat-Spray. This is stored in the Bat-copter along with three other “Oceanic Repellent Bat Sprays” designed to fend off, in addition to sharks, whales, manta rays and barracudas. Too bad Steve Irwin didn't think to carry those.

There is, of course, a Lego re-enactment:

Kind of related: Mythbusters on Does "Essence of Dead Sharks" Work as Shark Repellent?:

More at Fact Fiend - Batman Really Does Carry Shark Repellent Spray.

Related: 

Smithsonian Magazine - Shark Repellent: It’s Not Just For Batman Anymore

It was actually first developed during World War II in an effort to help save the lives of seamen and pilots who had to await rescue in open water

Here's the 1983 episode of The Family Feud: the cast of Gilligan's Island vs the cast of Batman.

Physics of superheroes: Batman's powers questioned by scientists.

Video and infographic: the evolution of the Batmobile and the History of the Batmobile Parachute Pickup Service Van.

The physics of Batman's cape.

The Evolution of Batman in Cinema: From 1939 to Present.

Monday links

It's Anne Frank's birthday: here's some history and a video tour of the annex where her family hid for two years prior to their arrest.

Technologies That Replace Super Powers.

How I Caught a Contract Killer.

Ave atque vale, Adam West - here's the Batman opening sequence and a compilation of fight scenes (Bap! Pow!)

The finalists for Shed of the Year 2017

The literal meanings of 27 place names in the U.K.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include photos of earth from the International Space Station, knitting as an espionage tool, cooking literature's famous meals, and how falconry shaped the English language.

Ave atque vale, Adam West - here's the Batman opening sequence and some fight scenes (Bap!)

This Batman TV series opening theme music is totally stuck in my head now:

For a little trip dow memory lane, if you're old enough, here are fight scenes from the 1966 season of Batman (Parts 1 and 2). Those of you too young to remember will probably enjoy them, too:

Related: Here's a 1983 episode of The Family Feud with the cast of Gilligan's Island vs the cast of Batman. 

1983 episode of The Family Feud: the cast of Gilligan's Island vs the cast of Batman

The cast of Gilligan's Island plays against the cast of Batman for charity in this 1983 episode of The Family Feud. It's interesting in a glimpse of history sort of sense, too - the number one answer to "Name something you bring into the bedroom for the day when you're sick in bed." is "a television", and another answer is "the phone". 

via Laughing Squid

Physics of superheroes: Batman's powers questioned by scientists

Research from the University of Leicester has deemed Batman to be the “most ill-equipped” of the superheroes, claiming that the velocities Gotham City’s finest reaches when gliding through the air would be likely to kill him on landing.

In a series of papers published over the last seven years in the Journal of Physics Special Topics and Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, students at Leicester have examined the viability of a range of superhero characters. Superman, they have determined, would be “best equipped” to prevail among the contenders they have studied, which include the Flash, Thor and Iron Man.

Looking at everything from the Man of Steel’s muscle tissue – his skin density “would have to be 296 g/cm3 to stop 50% of standard handgun bullets” – to how he reverses the polarity of the Earth’s spin (he increases his relativistic mass by 13.7m times by travelling close to the speed of light, they write), Superman is the “the number one candidate for ‘most powerful superhero’”.

He is followed by Wolverine, whose lunge at an enemy while on top of a train was calculated by the students at at least 1300N, “based on his adamantium-reinforced skeleton’s mass and density (acknowledging that osmium is the closest thing to adamantium in terms of density)”.

James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota and author of The Physics of Superheroes, praised the students’ “excellent research”, but said they had forgotten to consider a major aspect of Batman’s strength.

“Batman may indeed be at the bottom of the list, when one considers raw firepower, but they have not properly weighted Batman’s greatest asset – his mind. Batman always has a plan, and with enough time and resources, he has demonstrated an ability to singlehandedly take down every member of the Justice League,” said Kakalios, pointing to the Tower of Babel storyline from 2000, which he said sees the villain Ra’s al Ghul use the contingency plans developed by Batman to incapacitate superheroes including Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash and Wonder Woman.

Related posts:

This Comic Reveals Why Female Superheroes Wear Skimpy Armor.

The 1960s Superhero Who Powered Up By Smoking (and other weird superheroes).

9 Reasons Green Lanterns Are the Universe's Worst Protectors.

More at The Guardian, h/t Geekpress.

Wednesday links

Happy Purim: Here's the SNL skit where Gilda Radner explains that she saves up all of her orgasms for this day.

Movie Scenes Before And After The Special Effects Were Added.

Sure, Superman Has X-Ray Vision. But How Would It Actually Work?

Video and infographic: the evolution of the Batmobile. Related: Closer Look At The Batmobile From Batman v Superman.

Freud’s Case Studies in Hysteria As a Graphic Novel.

Map: Imperial Europe's Penal Colonies.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include William Shatner's 85th birthday, why your nose runs when it's cold, explaining the Italian/New Jersey accent, and a baby elephant try to figure out how his trunk works.

Video and infographic: the evolution of the Batmobile

Check out this animation showing the transformation of movie versions of the Batmobile - the infographic below the video contains more details about the cars and the associated iterations of Batman:

Batmobiles and the Bat by SELECT CAR LEASING

Related posts and links:

History of the Batmobile Parachute Pickup Service Van.

Infographic: The Price of Being a Superhero in Real Life, Then & Now.

The physics of Batman's cape.

Thanks, John!

Friday links

History of the Batmobile Parachute Pickup Service Van.

Borderline Nations Between the US and Canada.

What if humans became cold-blooded?

It's Rimsky-Korsakov's birthday - quotes, bio, Flight of the Bumblebee and a lame joke.

15 Delightful Hairdos History Has Forgotten.

Nobel Prize time: Disease-fighting beer.

ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include St. Patrick's Day, how peacocks look in mid-flight (spoiler alert - they're beautiful), and a 2,100 year old Roman tavern.

History of the Batmobile Parachute Pickup Service Van

This is a hoot, especially if (like me) you're old enough to remember the old Adam West Batman TV series (wiki) - it ran from 1966 - 1968. If you haven't seen them, you should track them down and watch.

By the way, that theme song is really stuck in my head.

Related:

Infographic: The Price of Being a Superhero in Real Life, Then & Now.

The physics of Batman's cape.

via Miss Cellania

Thursday links

It's Stonewall Jackson's birthday - here's the story of his left arm's separate grave (bonus: Lord Uxbridge's leg)

Man stabbed and bitten after stirring someone else's chili.

White Castle offering Valentine's Day reservations.

French King Louis XVI was guillotined on this day in 1793. Here's Allan Sherman.

Look Up Before Sunrise for the Next Month to See 5 Planets at Once.

Infographic: The Evolution Of The Batmobile.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include how people in the 60's thought we'd dance in the future, why cans of Diet Coke float but cans of regular Coke don't, Buffy's 35th birthday and how the Revolutionary War was paid for?

The Evolution of Batman in Cinema: From 1939 to Present

The change in voice is interesting, as well as all of the more obvious changes.

The Evolution of Batman in Cinema from Jacob T. Swinney on Vimeo.

via Vimeo:

A journey through the evolution of Batman (wiki) on the big screen and cinema as a whole. From the serials of the 1940s to the Christopher Nolan blockbusters, watch as the iconic character transforms within the different eras of filmmaking.

Films used:

Batman (1943 serial)

Batman and Robin (1949 serial)

Batman: The Movie (1966)

Batman (1989)

Batman Returns (1992)

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Batman Forever (1995)

Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman Begins (2005)

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Lego Movie (2014)