Shark Week

What better time could there possibly be to take an entire week and devote it to all things shark than the dog days of summer! Discovery Channel has been doing just that for more than twenty years and, based on its immense popularity, it is certain to be around for many more. So what is it about shark week and sharks that have people mesmerized?

Well, for one thing fear of the unknown. Think about it. There you are hanging out on your surf board or lazily paddling about on a floatie when - wham! Something has got you! At least that's what we've been lead to believe through first hand survivor accounts and movies like Jaws. But is it true? Are sharks really the man-eaters they are made out to be, lurking in the depths to attack when least expected. Shark week is dedicated to bringing these mysterious creatures out of the dark so that we can see and understand them just a bit better.

During Shark Week you can certainly expect to see some incredible up-close and personal footage of sharks, with the great white leading the way. It is the picture perfect shark after all, made famous by Steven Spielberg. With its saw-toothed maw gaping wide as its torpedo shaped body shoots from the water, it looks like nothing other than the perfect killing machine that it is. But did you know that less than 1/6th of these attacks on humans prove fatal?

And while we all think of the great white as the undisputed leader of all fatal attacks on humans it is suspected that the oceanic whitetip shark actually has it beaten by a longshot. It is just that its habitat is the deep ocean. Survivors of disasters such as a ship sinking or an airplane going down aren't close enough to rescue or to be observed and interviewed. There just isn't enough data to provide any real statistics so this shark is basically getting away with murder.

Are you interested in the stories of survivors? There are some fascinating ones. Are they still willing to return to the water? Find out. What is new in the shark world? Come and see for yourself. Do you have questions you want answered? Shark Week has a late night talk show, "Shark After Dark", so you can tweet to your heart's content. If you haven't guessed it yet Shark Week is the place to be if you want to know anything about sharks!