Shark Weapons

[@HamzaSayedAli]

Running into battle wearing a blowfish on your head would be the coolest thing.

[@thebrainscoop]

RIGHT?!

[@higbeythedemon]

protip- make sure blowfish is dead and dried out first.

[@HamzaSayedAli]

higbey the demon Yes. That would be an important step.

[@iunnosillygoose]

That would be amazing and you could have clam shell armour

[@JamesGirl0016]

Mr.Chips Clam shells are not as strong as you might think, and are prone to shattering... And then you effectively have shrapnel in your wounds...

[@JimmySlaughter]

Quick, somebody make some fan art of Emily, wearing a blow-fish helmet, wielding a 25ft spear, and starring down a petrified Soon Raccoon.

[@HamzaSayedAli]

I'm working on it! It looks kinda shabby but it's getting there. :D

[@JuanDVene]

+HamzaSayedAli I know it's been over a year, bit I'm curious. Did you finish it?

[@HamzaSayedAli]

JuanDVene Nah I gave up. Someone else made one that was really good so I never finished mine. unicornbyte.tumblr.com/post/94785505365/ I have no idea how I found this after like two years though

[@funnyanimalsandgaming9995]

@@HamzaSayedAli do it

[@PhilGartman]

This is so much better than shark week on TV. I watch these episodes and know they have credibility . I can't say that for the shows on the so called educational television networks anymore. Thanks to everyone who make this happen!

[@emilymacdougall184]

And people still say that you shouldn't trust what you see on the internet...

[@warnockossoffwon5494]

@@emilymacdougall184 Oh the naiveté of 8 years ago. Simpler times. 😔 If only we could go back and warn of the impeding flood of fake news, wilful ignorance and general online idiocy 🥺

[@MythagoWoods]

First thing that came to my mind was someone bludgeoning someone else to death with a shark. Literal shark weapon.

[@ForbiddenMonkey]

Shark on a stick!

[@thebrainscoop]

NEXT ON THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL

[@only20frickinletters]

What animal (dead) do you think would make the most effective weapon? I'm willing to wield a kid (as in goat young) against anyone.

[@HamzaSayedAli]

only20frickinletters Large crustaceans (crustacea?) like lobster or crabs might work well in close combat with their hard exoskeletons. Great for cracking bone (not that I would know...)

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

only20frickinletters I'm thinking turtle (big one). Or maybe porcupine.

[@TM686K]

A point rarely mentioned is that the majority of the times these spears were also poisoned. One tiny scratch from these things and you wouldn't last until the next morning unless you had a really good healer. The use of reef fish infected with ciguatera, gall sacs of bottom dwelling fish, the ground carapace of certain crabs and the worst one of all was the juice of cantharides beetles. They would be boiled down and mixed with kamaimai/coconut sugar syrup and applied on the blades, the syrup solidifies the poison on the blade making it poisonous for months to even years.

[@TatooineWindAndFire]

The massively long spears aren't actually that unusual, from a historical perspective. European armies fought with 20-30 foot pikes as far back as the ancient Greeks. So long as you have a shorter backup weapon (or some friends), they're very useful.

[@davidshi451]

Now THIS, this is fascinating. I wonder what other aspects of human history can shed light on the natural world, or vice versa?

[@thebrainscoop]

I'd venture to guess that it is more than we can ever discover.

[@davidshi451]

I'M SO EXCITED FOR MORE DAYS ABOUT CARTILAGINOUS FISHES YAY!!! (and Anna Goldman, to be honest)

[@alfredodiaz297]

David Shi Bones used to be a very important resourse in our past.

[@SciJoy]

I wonder if more people have died from being attacked with weapons made of shark than from actual shark attacks.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

That is a near certainty. Only about 4 people a year die from shark attacks. People went to war with these shark weapons. Even if they're not super effective, just the war aspect would result in many more deaths than 4 a year.

[@Koltronn]

ShadeSlayer1911 Yes, but 4 people die every year from sharks, while the use of shark tooth weaponry has more or less gone out of style. Even if at one point the shark-tooth weaponry was ahead, by now (or in the near future) sharks will again take the lead.

[@WhoTheHellIsHarvy]

+Koltronn And humans kill literally millions of sharks every year. It's a very strange fascination the large majority have with shark attacks on humans, and the ratio of attacks on humans to humans killing sharks is not highlighted as much as it should be.

[@swordsaint-qb1id]

@@ShadeSlayer1911 They are very effective, Tiger shark teeth behind the blunt force of a club would mess you up very badly. I’ve even seen swordfish-bill swords.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

@@swordsaint-qb1id Swordfish bill swords sounds very interesting

[@higbeythedemon]

swordfish rapier, marlin dagger, shark tooth mace, sea turtle shell shield, anglerfish on a chain, crab shell spiked gauntlet, sea urchin morning star, starfish shurikens, conesnail barb knife, pufferfish boxing gloves, stingray sting arrows shot from a kelp and coral bow with a gulper eel quiver, blobfish grenades, walrus penis bone club, octopus (you dont need to weaponize those guys) LET THE SEA GLADIATOR BATTLES COMMENCE!

[@marcusgreenberg758]

It's just an arena with a giant fish tank in the center, so you have to catch and craft your weapons. Good luck with the sharks and octopi.

[@mysss29]

higbey the demon seems legit Marcus Greenberg hahahahaha

[@ThatNateGuy]

I love how totally psyched by all of this Emily is. I enjoy watching this all the more because of it!

[@Cal0Pat]

"They don't all follow one cookie cutter pattern..." Well duh, the cookie cutter shark is way too small to make a weapon out of! Unless you just throw them at your enemies, I suppose.

[@caraomahony8644]

She has birds on her shirt, what an enthusiastic biologist! Her career has spilled over into her fashion choice. You're so cool Emily!

[@BeingLolaStar]

Wearing a blowfish on your head sounds like a level up in Mario or the next update from Minecraft.

[@kiribetio123]

Yay I'm From Kiribati, it pretty cool to see our history in some part of the world.

[@TheAussiePirate]

Your intellect and enthusiasm is such a beautiful thing. If only I could find someone like you but 30 years older...

[@katsmith2978]

"How would you fight with a 25 foot spear?" 25 feet away.

[@oldsalt394]

buh-duhm tss!

[@kiribetio123]

Kat Smith the this is not heavy it easy to swing it from side to side

[@robin7433]

Kat Smith shark jousting

[@Kaneanite]

I really wish these were longer episodes.

[@IamSamys]

2:06 What's the background music?

[@RikSowden]

I've done some training with (English) Civil War pikes and they're not as long as 25 feet but they go to about 18 feet, which is plenty long enough! They're useful in mass formations for defence (particularly against cavalry) and to present a formidable row of spikes to the enemy. Notably some regiments had shorter, 12-14" pikes, which proved a big disadvantage against other divisions of pike. The Macedonian pike (sarissa) was around 20 feet in length and was used very aggressively, again in large formations. I would imagine that this would be used with others (armed with similar weapons) in a formation, either defensively or aggressively to attack, relying on intimidation and a mass of spikes/spear points to win ground.

[@cicad2007]

Wow! Another great episode by the Queen of the Chicago Field Museum! :-) Seriously, though, I check for a new show here every day. Love it!

[@donniemontoya9300]

Armor and weapons made of human hair, coconut fiber, blowfish, and sharks just sounds like something straight out of a video game.

[@CardboardCreative]

gosh, but I loved the concept of this video. thanks for delving into the antho collection!

[@devonwilton1063]

would love to see some more animal preparations, feels like it's been awhile

[@tetsubo57]

I want that *entire* collection.

[@theicechinchilla]

Can you do an episode on how eating sharks can actually be bad for you because of how much mercury is in their diet? Or just about conversation and general population numbers?

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

I usually take a small shark about the size of a two-handed sword, fill it with plaster (non-heating, unless you prefer a cooked style weapon) wait for it to dry and I am ready to bash. The teeth will eventually get knocked out with use and the plaster will pulverize. When the club begins to sag and look more like the half-empty sack of father christmas, it is usually a good sign that it is time to get a fresh shark - but until then it's a lot of fun. I like to trim off the pelvic and dorsal fins for aerodynamics, but I always sell them off to the Chinese guy down at the corner shop so there is no waste. "All of the animal is used" as they say. Used to cover my video rental expenses, but now - with the internet - it just pays for the crisps and band aids ...

[@tioonieretita7798]

Some of this weapons are really solid build from the stem of the oldest coconut tree, those can be used frequently while other weapons, especially small ones, are just strong enough to penetrate halfway through opponents and also they easily break from their mid-section or just at their tip so that part of the weapon will stay inside the opponent spreading poison or causing infection...most cruel reason is that he may bleed to death or die trying to get it out note that some shark teeth on the weapons are facing backwards so if it hits your organs probably cause damage bulling it out.....by the way any weapon made at this century are not for war but are made for trade or artifacts so they lack true quality of a war weapon

[@biofungus]

I would think that part of figuring out why those two sharks were no longer in the area would be to figure out a) if they ever were indigenous to the area (as you mentioned) and b) when they disappeared. But, how would you figure that out? Unless you found specific bones in the area, or had witnesses who could attest to when they (or their ancestors) last saw them. Are those sharks still indigenous to nearby areas?

[@Thiagokko]

Good as always!!

[@DJKento]

That was really cool. Do you have more photos of these weapons? They're really interesting.

[@Safeway_Sage]

Another excellent episode!!! You will be an old woman creating new episodes of The Brain Scoop and yet not see everything that facility has hiding within its walls. However, I think you need to renegotiate the raccoon's contract as he cannot seem to want to stay the whole episode. Must be a Teamster!

[@JoshuaChowabc]

Wow this video was so cool! Now I want to go see these shark weapons :)

[@tungaru3133]

You guys need to know how we use those!

[@jamietie]

Well, now I have to find a 25' shark-tooth-studded spear on Amazon so I can put it on my wishlist.

[@DarlaSeefluth57]

This is way better than TV shark week. zzzzz

[@keith-is-mad]

"This thing is much big. This guy must be strong... Let's negotiate."

[@JimGiant]

A 25ft spear seems far more practical that those multi-pronged "swords". 20ft pikes have been used by different armies historically to great effect and without having done further research maybe it could have been ceremonial or decorative.

[@voltaireon]

those weapons are used at a distance like Pike! They are used to defend charging enemies, horses, etc.

[@kiribetio123]

Taryn Good Good thinking but there is no horse in Kiribati island

[@teemwaaiaimoa5633]

believe it or not, The Gilbert warriors wore these armors to avoid shark teeth tearing their skins and living organs. No where else in other pacific countries wore armor, they would just show their body and tattoos and how big they are. Since the whole Kiribati used the same weapons, short weapons for close combat and long for long range battles. i'd figured the helmet would be useful in a close combat mode too, just smashing your head to your opponent that is not wearing any helmet.

[@tungaru3133]

I'm from Kiribati Island. Those weapon are very weak and easily to break but they are very poison and spiritual! The long weapon design for long distance combat and the short one is for close combat. The Amor design to cover your skin from the shark teeth to protect you from the poison spell, once you get cat by the blade you won't be able to move.

[@MissScarletTanager]

Use the tall one as a pole vault to spear your enemies and glide over them triumphantly.

[@realkojitmal]

I love it when different fields (biology/anthropology/history/etc) work together to figure something out

[@TonanaTakenteiti]

I'm from Kiribati 🇰🇮. The name of clothe that use for war battles is called Tuta and also there is a rope for belts that make by coconut fibers, it called katibana. I think you already have those weapons name in Kiribati, just because you do not said their name.

[@bitbeak]

This is so bad ass, oh my goodness!

[@myfishotto4085]

Couldn't the 25 ft spear be used for spear-fishing in deeper water?

[@matthewharbour6276]

25ft spears In parts of the world are sometimes used in the back and middle ranks. they would wave them overhead of the ranks ahead to deflect ranged weapons coming in. They make great weapons to stop a mounted charge. Jam the back end hard into the groubd at an angle. Brace it with your back foot. then set a grim face and absolutely don't move. The movie "The 13th warrior" has a great example. Finally this could be used by the 4th line stabbing over the heads and shoulders of the lines in front. It would require considerable strength to pierce through with deadly force, but then again even having a shark tipped spear waving around your face while fending off 3 other lines of people in front if you would be distracting to say the least.

[@birataakeueanimatang3239]

First of all, there are no horses in Kiribati and secondly they don't fight in large numbers or armies cos they have few people on the island

[@brancomctab1248]

In the well known war of Kaitu and Uakeia, they did build up an army and started conquering other nearby islands. They might use those long lances then.

[@My2ndnephew]

Bloodless war, show up with your weapons and everyone back off......perfect!

[@erictaylor5462]

They have discovered obsidian tools made from obsidian found only in the PNW in Florida. Not exactly "near by"

[@TravisPeter]

I think they just need to hand Shark Week over to Emily and The Brain Scoop.

[@OracleAnne]

Is there evidence of these weapons actually being used for battle, or would some of them have been mostly ceremonial? Either way, what a cool way to use shark teeth.

[@tungaru3133]

Yes! I'm from Kiribati Island! The weapons is very weak and easily to break but is very poison and spiritual.

[@Brewhound77]

The craziest thing is how people were still still crafting and fighting with stone age weapons as little as a hundred years ago.

[@ninjafruitchilled]

There are places where people still do it now.

[@birataakeueanimatang3239]

They use stone age weapons because they don't have metals

[@kurojin97]

No the 25 foot long weapon was probably put in a pit or ravine for somebody to fall into... I'm totally guessing...I have no clue how it would be used....

[@Scorthon]

That's how you give a shark a taste if it's own pedealyte

[@cpuddic2]

More dissection videos!

[@anxiousrobot82]

Their weapons could be easier to make if they had available saw shark "saws" to use instead of individual shark teeth.

[@lasschesteven]

Although it'd require some skill, I can easily imagine how one would use such a long weapon. You just hold it horizontally, balance it (that's the required skill), and run forward, piercing your enemies.

[@kiribetio123]

lasschesteven actually it a pretty good deadly weapon, the kiribati people uses it back in history to invade some of the islands in the Pacific Ocean and that one of their deadly weapons

[@JazzyMoonstone]

Yay! Brain scoop!

[@ArnoldLee133]

how can you even wear an empty blow fish? and how did they maintain those spines on the fish>??

[@Estudiante-musico-con-hobbies]

How to make?

[@Pippi-Longstocking]

Are your earrings birds' feet? If so, nice touch as it matches your shirt. This was really fascinating. Thanks for posting!

[@sophieciaglia9717]

yep who made them?

[@NumeMoon]

The 25-ft long spears, I have a hunch weapons were built for trial and error back then. Just look at some of the earliest "flying" machines. :p

[@seanduff8878]

They probably got a bunch of men together and formed a proto-phalanx. The Hawaiians had a similar tactic, so it's easy to assume other Polynesian people had it as well.

[@DiamondLego]

Can you dissect as shark this week?

[@daaaah_whoosh]

The HEMA in me really wants to learn more about these weapons/armor. But I know no one's ever going to let me do cutting tests with these things.

[@matthewjohnson2398]

I wonder what happened to get those teeth from the 2 species of shark there. I really hope some sort of ocean current brought them there and they weren't overfished.

[@Chemzrox]

So worried for a moment that she wasn't going to say "It still has brains on it..." phew!

[@FranticCashew]

I have a shark tooth question. I know that sharks lose teeth all the time because they aren't rooted into their gums like human teeth, but why is that? What advantage do non rooted teeth give sharks? Or is it simply different evolutionary paths? Also, does it cost a lot of energy to make all these new teeth, or is it kind of like growing new nails? Thanks!

[@ltericdavis2237]

The main thing is that they just never developed a permanent tooth system. The system they developed had replacable teeth and they stuck with that. Having easily replaced teeth is also extremely helpful if the teeth can be easily damaged. With creatures with permanent teeth, they have to be made exceptionally strong to avoid damage because if they are damaged, that could severely limit food intake. But if the teeth are easily replacable, a breaking a few teeth on a turtle shell isn't that much of a problem. I also would believe that teeth production would have a sizable cost to the animal, at least in minerals as it is the only mineralized part of the body, but seeing as the mineralized teeth are a sharks main way of aquiring resources, it is worth the investment.

[@FranticCashew]

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense :)

[@mysss29]

That's a really interesting point, and it makes me think about how different shark teeth are from land animal teeth--it seems like they might be a lot less sturdy!

[@dangerouslytalented]

the really long one was probably some kind of booby trap, to stop an enemy advancing, you would lay this on the ground and any enemy without thick enough shoes would get cut badly. It still has b----?...

[@Who_Am_I_d.i.y.ryanpanana1349]

They probably used the 25 foot one to keep people away or battle on boats.

[@R3Mwin]

Samehada pls

[@JuanDVene]

Reminds me of the Forsworn weapons in Skyrin

[@JuanDVene]

*Skyrim

[@memelord4372]

Haha same

[@birataakeueanimatang3239]

Of course I remember forsworn

[@reignorshine.]

I want close ups of everyone of those 123 weapons.next show pleese

What's up with that racoon appearing everywhere?? haha

[@json1824]

A swordfish in battle. That's what people on Atlantis use.

[@demianhaki7598]

Any chances these weapons might be purely ceremonial?

[@HITTHEROAD19]

Dr.Brainscooplady

[@KatieAerene]

YESSSS INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IS THE COOOOOOOLEST!!!!

[@The1Helleri]

I am thinking the 25 foot long ones are not weapons. Doesn't really make sense as a weapon...Maybe a branch saw.

[@ltericdavis2237]

I believe the purpose of that weapon would be naval combat. With a weapon that long you could injure an opponent on another boat yet keep yourself out reach of there weapons (not looking into potential archery or throwable weapons). It may be a bit unwieldy, but getting hit by that thing would still hurt enough to give the person using it the advantage.

[@kizitosan]

either that or it was used more as a fishing weapon or more as a stationary placement lilke lance that was used in the midleages to prevent cavalry charges, not nececary to swing with it as much as it can be levered as a trap like weapon to make people impale themselves on it or to attack from tree tops

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

Maybe they were ceremonial weapons. Like the gigantic swords medieval people sometimes used for official functions. (I don't know, just throwing it out there.)

[@The1Helleri]

I wonder how well a 25 foot long (obviously going to be top heavy) implement, with sharp serrated blades (basically what those shark teeth are), is going to do on a Pinisi that probably isn't even as long as it with up to 6 sails and 2 masts (not to mention all the rigging) as a boat to boat weapon. Or what warrior will be intimidated by something so impractical they will be moved so slowly that they don't even have to catch it on their own weapon (just step out of the way). Purely ceremonial? Like "look how much wealth we have that we can throw together a weapon so ridiculous that we never even plan to use."...maybe. But, this thing could easily reach some fresh coconuts or branches. And, used in a strait up and down motion it would probably be a whole lot easier to work with then held out in front of someone or thrown. Makes a lot more sense as a tool to me. Thinking that just because these other shark teeth things are weapons that this must be as well...That's like saying middle age European smiths only made swords.

[@penguin1899]

A group of warriors could form a proto-phalanx, but I think the above suggestions are more valid.

[@brandonlopez1084]

This museum still refuses return stolen sacred ceremonial artifacts to their respected cultures who have asked for them back! Shed some light on that part of the museum and their ideology!

[@morbly]

I wonder if some of those things aren't actually weapons or are just ceremonial. The multishafted ones look entirely impractical.

[@morbly]

and then I read the comments...

[@higbeythedemon]

so, can we judge based on that giant sword that Cloud went back to Kiribati 100+ years ago?

[@Who_Am_I_d.i.y.ryanpanana1349]

I would think the 25' spear would be used for fighting on a boat with an enemy boat.

[@miriam3848]

The 'it still has brains on it' phrase sounds even ickier in an episode about weapons...

[@JacqueMiller]

You are awesome. :D

[@ancielmere485]

Who camera'd this? Theres so much headspace, its distracting

[@Christopher_175]

Michael Aranda. It was probably done this way to show off the weaponry behind Emily.

[@kahoaliiaiu7130]

We made those from the Koa tree and I’m Native Hawaiian myself and so we use sharks teeth to make like Leio manos and we made our own spear out of Tree and I know because that’s our weapons that we Hawaiians used in all the battles in Hawaii con-coring all the islands

[@Neueregel]

is this shark week or sth ? I've watched at lest 5 shark vids this week !

[@urvinespiegel7335]

I thought this was going to be about weapons that sharks use.

[@nickc3657]

I'm so glad she said Kiribati correctly 😄😄

[@terrypotato]

Emily, you seem to always be having so much fun; that is very inspiring!

[@mkirefu]

Got to wait for the brains

[@2menace]

great video! you do however look like you're constantly balancing on a gym ball :D

[@MathAndComputers]

My girlfriend and I are definitely enjoying these several consecutive calendar days dedicated to predatory cartilaginous fishes, not like that sh*** w***.

[@goliathprime]

Were these weapons actually used in battle or were they ceremonial? Some of those swords look very unbalanced and unwieldy.

[@kiribetio123]

goliathprime yea in Kiribati back then

[@pzleader7096]

I'm proud that I'm from Kiribati

[@BenKroll]

Soooo you're saying you would speak softly and carry a big stick. Sounds like a good plan but I'd bring that weaponized raccoon too just in case.

[@erictaylor5462]

The best way to fight someone with a 25 ft spear, use a gun, preferable a rifle.

[@MisterTingles]

before you said helmet, my guess qould've actually been spikey bocing gloves.

[@erictaylor5462]

When it comes to life in the seas, it is clear that sharks don't count.