One Of Julia Child's First Recipes Was A Shark Repellent For The CIA

Julia Child is internationally renowned for her brilliant recipes, over-the-top personality, and oh-so-famous voice. While she refused to use the word "gourmet" when it came to her culinary creations, one of her first recipes was far from delicious — shark repellent. In 1942, Child (then Julia McWilliams) volunteered for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an agency created during World War II to collect intelligence for the American military that served as the predecessor of the CIA. She quickly moved up the ranks and was eventually tasked to create a powerful shark repellent, as sharks had detonated several undersea explosives and attacked some 20 American soldiers.

One of Child's most important kitchen tips is to never be afraid of making mistakes when cooking. She proved this philosophy while devising her shark repellent, experimenting with over 100 different substances. Child tested everything from common poisons to rotten shark meat and naturally occurring acids, and after a full year, she eventually settled on copper acetate dyed black, which, when placed in water, smelled like a dead shark. The mixture was then assembled into a small "cake" shape and placed in a metal box lined with mesh screens. These boxes were small enough to be attached to a soldier's arm, leg, belt, or life jacket, repelling sharks for up to six or seven hours. Despite being around 60% effective, the repellent provided soldiers some much-needed peace of mind during marine operations, improving morale during a time of mass media coverage around shark attacks.

It might seem surprising to hear that Julia Child made shark repellent for the OSS, but believe it or not, she had no background in the culinary arts at the time. Instead, she received a history degree from Smith College in 1934. Eight years later, Child attempted to volunteer for the Women's Army Corps, but she was rejected for being too tall, at 6 feet 2 inches. She then decided to use her educational background to her advantage, becoming a file secretary at the OSS. 

Eventually, she became the executive assistant to zoologist Harold Jefferson Coolidge Jr., who was leading the OSS's Emergency Sea Rescue Equipment Section. There, Child was tasked to create the powerful shark repellent with Coolidge. After successfully creating the repellent, Child decided to travel overseas with the OSS. Eventually, she arrived in India, where she met her future husband Paul Child, who later became well-known in his own right, crafting several overlooked cocktail recipes. The couple later traveled to France, where she attended the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. This set Child in motion to publish her first cookbook, which put her on the map as a culinary icon. 

While Child left the OSS after WWII, her shark repellent lives on. The U.S. Navy stopped using Child's shark repellent in the 1970s to protect soldiers, but it's rumored that the repellent is still used to protect downed NASA spacecraft in the ocean.