via examiner.com
Julia McWilliams’ post was with the Office of Strategic Services, or the OSS, which was the predecessor to the CIA. She held several positions, and at one point she and co-workers solved a unique problem for the U.S. Navy: Sharks bumping into underwater explosives were setting them off and warning the German U-boats they were intended to sink. According to Linda McCarthy, curator of the Clandestine Women: The Untold Stories of Women in Espionage exhibit at the National Women's History Museum, “Julia Child and a few of her male compatriots got together and literally cooked up a shark repellent," to coat the explosives. (more)
