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July 18, 2008 You're Gonna Need a Bigger Shark Richard "Dick" Edwards plants dynamite in the mechanical shark prop used in filming the classic movie Jaws.
During his service in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War, Edwards became
an expert in explosives. Early in his career at WHOI, he applied his knowledge of explosives
to the work of seismic researchers, though Navy officials continued to call on his expertise for many years. The famous silver screen shark explosion
was added to Edwards' resumé because filmmakers working on Martha's Vineyard needed an explosives expert with a blasting permit to
set up their climactic scene. Edwards' life is being celebrated today in a memorial service in Woods Hole.
(Photo by Cliff Winget, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
