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Speargun
A speargun is a ranged underwater fishing device designed to launch a tethered spear or harpoon to impale fish or other marine animals and targets. Spearguns are used in sport fishing and underwater target shooting. The two basic types are ''pneumatic'' and ''elastic'' (powered by rubber bands). Spear types come in a number of varieties including threaded, break-away and lined. Floats and buoys are common accessories when targeting larger fish. Components The basic components of a speargun are a spear, a stock or barrel, and a handle or grip containing a trigger mechanism. Spearguns are usually from long, round or roughly rectangular from in diameter/width. Types of spearguns Spearguns are, most often, divided according to propulsion method, with the two common variants being rubber (or band) powered, and air powered (pneumatic). Band-powered spearguns, which are the simplest and cheapest to maintain, with rubber being the predominant material, come in two types: those m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spearfishing
Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilisations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks. Modern spearfishing usually involves the use of underwater swimming gear and slingshot-like elastic powered spearguns or compressed gas powered pneumatic spearguns, which launch a tethered underwater projectile to strike the target fish. Specialised techniques and equipment have been developed for various types of aquatic environments and target fish. Spearfishing may be done using free-diving, snorkelling or scuba diving techniques, but spearfishing while using scuba equipment is illegal in some countries. The use of mechanically powered spearguns is also outlawed in some countries and jurisdictions such as New Zealand. Spearfishing uses no bait and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal and securing it with barb or toggling claws, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the projectile to catch the animal. A harpoon can also be used as a weapon. Certain harpoons are made with different builds to perform better with the type of target being aimed at. For example, the Inuit have short, fixed foreshaft harpoons for hunting seals at their breathing holes while loose shafted ones are made for attaching to the game thrown at. History In the 1990s, harpoon points, known as the Semliki harpoons or the Katanda harpoons, were found in the Katanda region in Zaire (called the Democratic Republic of the Congo today). As the earliest known harpoons, these weapons were made and used 90,000 years ago, most likely to sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Underwater Firearm
An underwater firearm is a firearm designed for use underwater. They are in the arms inventories of many nations. A common feature of underwater firearms or needleguns is that they fire flechettes or spear-like bolts instead of standard bullets. These may be fired by pressurised gas. History Underwater firearms were first developed in the 1960s during the Cold War as a way to arm frogmen. Design Because standard bullet ammunition does not work well underwater, a common feature of underwater firearms is that they fire flechettes instead of standard bullets. The barrels of underwater pistols are typically not rifled. Rather, the fired projectile maintains its ballistic trajectory underwater by hydrodynamic effects. The lack of rifling renders these weapons relatively inaccurate when fired out of water. Underwater rifles are more powerful than underwater pistols and more accurate out of water, but underwater pistols can be manipulated more easily underwater. Among the ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharpe Family Murders
The Sharpe family murders refer to an Australian 2004 double murder. Australian man John Myles Sharpe killed his pregnant wife, New Zealander Anna Marie Kemp, and their 20-month-old daughter, Gracie Louise Kemp, in the semi-rural Melbourne suburb of Mornington, Victoria, in March 2004. Authorities say Sharpe repeatedly fired a speargun into the heads of his victims, later exhumed the body of his wife from a shallow grave, dismembered her, then disposed of her body in a landfill. Sharpe later appeared in emotional interviews on television seeking information on his family's whereabouts. He eventually confessed to the murders and was sentenced in 2005 to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of thirty-three years. He will be eligible for parole in 2037. Background John Sharpe was born 28 February 1967 in Mornington, Victoria, where he also grew up. He met his New Zealand-born wife, Anna Kemp, when they worked together at the Commonwealth Bank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polespear
A polespear (hand spear or gidgee) is an underwater tool used in spearfishing, consisting of a pole, a spear tip, and a rubber loop. Polespears are often mistakenly called Hawaiian slings, but the tools differ. A Hawaiian sling is akin to a slingshot or an underwater bow and arrow, since the spear and the propelling device are separate, while a polespear has the sling (rubber loop) attached to the spear. Description The pole is usually between four feet and ten feet long and made of fiberglass, carbon fibre, aluminum, graphite, or wood. Longer versions often break down into two or more pieces that screw together. The tip is either threaded to accept different kinds of spear tips or already has a fixed tip attached. The most popular spear tip on polespears are the paralyzer (often called a three-prong), and the Tahitian shaft (a single pivoting barb). Some more serious hunters will equip the polespear with a slip-tip (tip removes from the end and tethers to a fixed point). At the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawaiian Sling
The Hawaiian sling is a device used in spearfishing. The sling operates much like a bow and arrow does on land, but energy is stored in rubber tubing rather than a wooden or fiberglass bow. Description Mechanically, the device is simple: the only moving parts are the spear shaft and the rubber tubing. A loop of tubing is attached to a block of material, often wood, with a hole drilled in it which is slightly larger in diameter than the shaft. The shaft is placed in the hole, notched in the loop and pulled back, tensioning the tubing. When the shaft is released, the tubing propels it forward, faster and further than a diver could by hand. The Hawaiian sling has some similarities to spearguns and polespears, in that all are powered by energy stored in rubber tubing. However, it occupies a middle ground between the two; the sling is somewhat more powerful than a polespear and offers a much more comfortable grip, but is less powerful than most spear guns. Like a pole spear, the dive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Christian J. Lambertsen in a patent submitted in 1952. Scuba divers carry their own source of breathing gas, usually compressed air, affording them greater independence and movement than surface-supplied divers, and more time underwater than free divers. Although the use of compressed air is common, a gas blend with a higher oxygen content, known as enriched air or nitrox, has become popular due to the reduced nitrogen intake during long and/or repetitive dives. Also, breathing gas diluted with helium may be used to reduce the likelihood and effects of nitrogen narcosis during deeper dives. Open circuit scuba systems discharge the breathing gas into the environment as it is exhaled, and consist of one or more diving cylinders containing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bungee Jumping
Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a bridge across a deep ravine, or on a natural geographic feature such as a cliff. It is also possible to jump from a type of aircraft that has the ability to hover above the ground, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter. The thrill comes from the free-falling and the rebound. When the person jumps, the cord stretches and the jumper flies upwards again as the cord recoils, and continues to oscillate up and down until all the kinetic energy is dissipated. Early tethered jumping The land diving ( Sa: ') of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu is an ancient ritual in which young men jump from tall wooden platforms with vines tied to their ankles as a test of their courage and passage into manhood. Unlike in modern bungee-jumping, land- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Express Flight 705
On April 7, 1994, Federal Express Flight 705, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 cargo jet carrying electronics equipment across the United States from Memphis, Tennessee, to San Jose, California, was involved in a hijack attempt by Auburn R. Calloway, who the prosecution argued was trying to commit suicide. Calloway, a Federal Express employee, was facing possible dismissal for lying about his flight hours. He boarded the scheduled flight as a deadhead passenger carrying a guitar case concealing several hammers and a speargun. He tried to switch off the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) before takeoff and, once airborne, kill the crew with hammers so their injuries would appear consistent with an accident rather than a hijacking. The CVR, though, was switched back on by the flight engineer, believing that he had neglected to turn it on. Calloway intended to use the speargun as a last resort. He planned to crash the aircraft hoping that he would appear to be an employee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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