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IS THIS THE WORLD'S MOST STUPID MAN? -
Western Daily Press - UK ^ | September 20, 2003

Posted on 09/21/2003 3:47:42 PM PDT by UnklGene

IS THIS THE WORLD'S MOST STUPID MAN?

20 September 2003

Tv cameras have captured the agonising moment when a 350lb bull shark attacked a man convinced "yoga" would protect him from one of nature's most dangerous predators. The shark's razor-sharp teeth tore a chunk out of scientist Erich Ritter's leg as he stood in waters off a Bahamian beach that had been heavily baited with fish parts, it was revealed yesterday.

He suffered massive blood loss before being attended by first aiders and flown to hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida for treatment in intensive care.

The Discovery Channel will broadcast the incident on Sunday next week, claiming it as the first TV footage of a shark attack on a human being.

They say his brush with death has provided a unique insight into how and why different breeds of shark bite.

Dr Ritter's terrifying ordeal was filmed from above and below the water as he stood bare-legged in the shallows trying to attract sharks for a scientific study.

He had persuaded himself that special breathing techniques would safeguard him from an attack.

He practised yoga to reduce his heartbeat when swimming with sharks to make them believe he was a fellow predator and not prey.

Before the attack, he claimed that because of his ability to understand the sharks' body language he had never even been "nipped".

But the 43-year-old behavioural scientist badly miscalculated when a remora, a semi-parasitical fish associated with sharks, swam between his legs in search of shelter.

One of the sharks pursuing the remora missed the fish in the low visibility and sank its teeth deep into his left calf.

Dr Ritter, who spent six weeks in hospital, admitted he was lucky to be alive.

"When my conscious mind finally kicked in, I had the impression everything had slowed down around me. The pain was excruciating, but there was something else.

"I was not angry, upset or anything like that, but I just understood what had happened, and what had to be done," said Dr Ritter.

"On my way to the hospital I started to get cold, and I felt disconnected to what had happened to me. Then I found some form of peace and acceptance that I may die."

The two-hour documentary, Anatomy of a Shark Bite, sets out to discover whether all species of shark bite the same way and examines the amazing strength of the shark's powerful jaws.

Dr Ritter was bitten while carrying out research on the island of Walker's Cay, famous for its large population of sharks.

Unless provoked, the bull sharks of Walker's Cay are generally placid and conservationists have even used them as evidence that sharks are not the indiscriminate killers many people suppose.

The documentary is being screened on 'Shark Sunday', when the Discovery Channel is also showing Great Whites Down Under (8am), Ancient Sharks (5pm), Top Ten Shark Encounters (6pm) and Air Jaws 2 (8pm).


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Florida; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: darwinaward; shark
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To: Madame Dufarge
Is that Ted Kennedy? Not only can whales swim but they're a bit big for sharks... He outweighs that shark by a few pounds.
21 posted on 09/21/2003 4:12:48 PM PDT by cyborg (busily translating something fun...)
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To: UnklGene
Sharks are the pitbull/rottweiller/Muslims of the sea. And the animal and PC communities like to tell us over and over that sharks are real sweeties -- the fish of peace.
22 posted on 09/21/2003 4:13:09 PM PDT by Migraine (my grain is pretty straight today)
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To: UnklGene

23 posted on 09/21/2003 4:15:28 PM PDT by sweetliberty ("Having the right to do a thing is not at all the same thing as being right in doing it.")
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To: UnklGene
I don't see anything particularly unusual about this. Democrat politicians advocate things just as absurd on a national level, and millions of "Liberals" and other assorted fools follow them right into the water--doing their best to drag the rest of us into the waiting jaws along with them.
24 posted on 09/21/2003 4:19:31 PM PDT by Savage Beast (The American Heartland--the Spirit of Flight 93)
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To: UnklGene
"Shark and Awe"
25 posted on 09/21/2003 4:21:48 PM PDT by martin_fierro (Great Googlymoogly!)
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To: UnklGene
He should have tried the ancient yoga practice of levitation.

"On my way to the hospital I started to get cold, and I felt disconnected to what had happened to me. Then I found some form of peace and acceptance that I may die."

We call this state of mind, "shock".
26 posted on 09/21/2003 4:23:37 PM PDT by gitmo (Zero Tolerance = Intolerance)
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To: UnklGene
This new age whacko thinks he's something special. Thinks he's better than us non-yoga people.

>>...When my conscious mind finally kicked in..<<

Dude, most of OUR minds kick in LONG before we swim with sharks.

>>...I just understood what had happened, and what had to be done...<<

Nuttin new there Doc. We know that it's time to get to a hospital.

>>...On my way to the hospital I started to get cold, and I felt disconnected to what had happened to me...<<

It's called SHOCK. We all get it after we've been severely injured.

27 posted on 09/21/2003 4:27:05 PM PDT by FReepaholic (www.september-11-videos.com Never Forget.)
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To: UnklGene
Brain Doner
28 posted on 09/21/2003 4:30:55 PM PDT by RoarkMan (no tag line entered)
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To: SAMWolf
Darwin's are posthumously awarded.
29 posted on 09/21/2003 4:34:19 PM PDT by stylin19a (is it vietnam yet ?)
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To: sweetliberty
That cartoon is great!
LOL
Thanks
30 posted on 09/21/2003 4:35:08 PM PDT by HuntsvilleTxVeteran (PLANES: Remember Takeoffs are optional, Landings are mandatory)
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To: UnklGene
The problem with being a 'shark-whisperer' is that the shark translates everything you say as 'Eat me now'!
31 posted on 09/21/2003 4:35:34 PM PDT by headsonpikes (Spirit of '76 bttt!)
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To: UnklGene
Shouldn't the Discovery Channel be sued for contributory negligence? Letting nimrod sit in shark infested waters in order to film the attract is a real transparent ploy for ratings. Who buys the yoga/breathing tripe? It's more like: Hey, here's an idiot who we can film getting bit.

32 posted on 09/21/2003 4:35:55 PM PDT by RoarkMan (no tag line entered)
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To: UnklGene
First Extreme Sports, now Extreme Science.
I guess Science felt it needed to catch up to Extreme Religion, them having had a long rivalry.

I eagerly await the “Science Gone Wild” video series. Or, on second thought maybe not.
33 posted on 09/21/2003 4:37:02 PM PDT by LiveFreeOr..
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To: headsonpikes
"The problem with being a 'shark-whisperer' is that the shark translates everything you say as 'Eat me now'!"

ROTFL!

34 posted on 09/21/2003 4:38:09 PM PDT by sweetliberty ("Having the right to do a thing is not at all the same thing as being right in doing it.")
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To: UnklGene
This was shown in the US about a month ago, but they didn't mention te Yoga.

SO9

35 posted on 09/21/2003 4:40:25 PM PDT by Servant of the 9 (The voices tell me to stay home and clean the guns.)
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To: UnklGene
Join us next week on the Discovery Channel, as Erich Ritter stands in the center lane of the New Jersey Turnpike to test his theory that yoga can keep you from getting hit by a truck.
36 posted on 09/21/2003 4:41:25 PM PDT by GreenHornet
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To: UnklGene
"I was not angry, upset or anything like that, but I just understood what had happened, and what had to be done," said Dr Ritter.

TRANSLATION: I am an idiot.

37 posted on 09/21/2003 4:45:16 PM PDT by ABG(anybody but Gore) (Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a Tagline!)
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To: UnklGene
I saw this during shark week on Discovery.
All I coould think of was "duh".
This guy's a doctor -- he makes more than me???!!!!
I think I'll cover myself in B-B-Q sauce and approach a pack of hungry pit-bulls.
Of course, I'll hold no animosity towards them....
Will you guys make sure my wife and family get some of the royalties?
38 posted on 09/21/2003 4:47:58 PM PDT by baltodog (I'm Polish. I'm left-handed. I'm a drummer. I demand reparations.)
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To: Trust but Verify
I saw that show too....boring except for the woman who was attacked by a shark while swimming. I believe she lost one of her legs.
39 posted on 09/21/2003 4:48:55 PM PDT by Arpege92
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To: UnklGene
This guy sounds like "Robert Fisk of the Ocean!" Perhaps it was "Yoda," and not "Yoga" that would protect him.

...or JIMMIE CARTER of the shark/humman interaction project...the sharks are looking for prey/and the humans are trying to "get along"...something gotta give...stupid humans, where's the real food.

..a Gore voter, fer sure. :)

40 posted on 09/21/2003 4:49:30 PM PDT by skinkinthegrass (Just because you're paranoid,doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. :)
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