Discovery's MythBusters har lavet et program om netop dette... Sæson 1 Episode 3 "Eel Skin Wallet"
Citat:
Can wallets made from the skin of electric eels erase credit cards? Well, no. The mythbusters discovered that eelskin wallets are not made from eels at all - in fact, they are made from the skin of the hagfish. (A slimy, gross fish - that sort of looks like an eel.)
No matter how much they tried or how long they left the cards in the wallet, they could not erase it. In fact, it took over 1,000 gauss to erase a credit card - a gauss measurement that high could not be found in any household magnets, money clips, or wallets. So don't worry everyone, your credit cards are safe. Busted.
Det er jo ikke nogen garanti for at det ikke sker - men jeg har selv set dette afsnit og vil sige at hvis der er nogen af jer som kører rundt med en elektromagnet på 1000 Gauss på jeres MC så ville jeg snarere være bekymret for pludseligt at sidde fast på siden af en forbipasserede bil...
:: EDIT ::
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Myth: Eel skin wallets demagnetize credit cards.
Experts: John McCosker, Steinhart Aquarium
Eels actually do give a charge of 4000-5000 volts. To test if that will demagnetize credit cards, Adam and Jamie make stunt credit cards, and put them through various tests to see what works. They are put in different designs of wallets for a few seconds, with no change. After some wear and tear, still no change. Twenty-four hours later, nothing is different.
Is there possibly some residue from the tanning process? The put a wallet in the microwave, but no reaction was viewed. In truth, the wallets are not actually made from electric eels! They are made from hagfish, also known as the "slime eel" for its protective slime produced.
Back to the lab: cards are put in a magnetic money clip, but still no reaction. They rub two cards against each other, but it doesn’t change a thing.
Jamie builds an electromagnet and uses a gauss-meter to test magnetic strength. He lays a card over the magnet at 650 gauss for one second, with no result. 700 gauss, nothing. 800 gauss, nothing still. 1600 gauss, nothing! Adam suggests just waving the card over the magnet, and at 1000 gauss, it finally worked! One final test. A card is placed in the tank with an electric eel. He bit the card, but was otherwise not interested.