Flotsam & Jetsam

Best Remedy for Jellyfish Stings. A study in Emergency Medicine Australasia says people still don’t know how to treat jellyfish stings. Researchers found people are unsure whether to apply ice or hot water, while others use over-the-counter creams. More doctors are convinced that heat is most effective. An Undercurrent article from March 2007 mentioned another Australian study that found sting patients treated with hot water at 115 degrees had significant pain relief in 4 to 10 minutes, and heat also stopped inflammation.

Diving for Dentures. Some divers at Scapa Flow, off the northeast coast of Scotland, had a laugh when their boat skipper requested over the loudspeaker that everyone diving the German battkeship Kronprinz Wilhelm look out for a missing set of dentures. One of the group had lost his top set of teeth while changing regulators halfway through his dive. When he made hand signals and pointed to his teeth, his buddy thought he was smiling because he enjoyed the dive so much. Another diver found the dentures on the ship’s hull, in a dead man’s fingers. After giving his dentures a quick clean, the man soon had the smile back on his face.

Spearfishing Ban Successful in Saipan. Napoleon wrasses are fast disappearing worldwide but they’re flourishing in Saipan. That’s because the Northern Marianas is the only jurisdiction in the Pacific to ban scuba-spear fishing, considered the cause of the wrasse’s rapid decline in Indonesia and the Phillippines. In Hong Kong, a Napoleon wrasse can fetch up to $9 a pound, and a set of its lips go for $400. The fish is not considered that tasty but eating it is seen as a status symbol in Asia.

The sQuba Makes a Splash. The world’s first diving car makes its debut this month at the Geneva Motor Show. The maker is Swiss firm Rinspeed, whose CEO Frank Rinderknecht was inspired by the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me to make a car that can really fly underwater. The sQuba can go down to 30 feet, comes with a futuristic cockpit supplied with oxygen, and travels via an electric motor for the rear wheels, two propellers and dual jet drives. No doubt the price tag is astronomical but for more info, visit www.rinspeed.com and click on “Latest News.