Donald Trump on Sunday weighed in on the crucial issue of whether he would rather be electrocuted by the battery of a sinking ship or jump in the water to face a shark. The answer may surprise you.

In a soliloquy on batteries for electric vehicles, including ships, he pondered what would happen if such a boat were to sink and the battery would submerge.

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“It must be because of MIT, my relationship with MIT, very smart, I say, what would happen if the boat sank from its weight, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is now underwater and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there,” he said as MAGA supporters listened intently. “By the way, a lot of shark attacks lately. Did you notice this? A lot of sha…”

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“So there is a shark 10 yards from the boat, ten yards… or here,” he said. “Do I get electrocuted if the boat is sinking, water goes over the battery, the boat is sinking? Do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted, or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?”

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“He didn’t know. He said: ‘Nobody has ever asked me that question.’ I said, ‘I think it’s a good question. I think there is a lot of electric current coming through that water,’” Trump said. “But you know what I would do if there is a shark or you get electrocuted? I’ll take electrocution every single time.* I’m not getting near the shark.”

  • Twinkletoes@lemm.eeEnglish
    12·
    9 months ago

    This is probably a stupid question but would a battery even electrocute you in the water?

    • Nightwatch Admin@feddit.nlEnglish
      19·
      9 months ago

      Asking because you don’t know is not stupid. Cooking up the absolute bottom of pseudoscience interspersed with gobbledygook about your relative-inherited intellect is so massive… now that is stupidity.

    • Naich@lemmings.worldEnglish
      16·
      9 months ago

      No. Sea water is pretty conductive so most of the current would just go between the terminals. You would get some eddy currents further out, but not far. If you are in the water with broken bits of boat around you, you’ve got bigger problems than worrying about the batteries.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      9·
      9 months ago

      In the ocean? No. In the bathtub? Depends on the battery and what’s attached to it when it hits the water, I guess. A car battery with the jumper cables on it thrown into a large enough bathtub to hold it? I wouldn’t get in there.

    • batmaniam@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      9 months ago

      I agree with the “no” assessment, but also need to drop the bit of trivia that sharks are really sensitive to electricity. There was a guy making a shark detterent belt that you hit a button and it gave a small zap. Guy would cover himself in food, have the shark barreling right at him, hit the button and it does a 180.

      That being said, it probably was really low current but high voltage (like a static shock), I don’t know if sharks care about a low voltage battery stack.

      (bonus fun fact: that sensitivity is why hammerhead are the way they are. With those sensors further apart you get more spatial resolution, like a radar array. It’s also why they wag there head over the floor; they’re sweeping for electrical signals of their prey)