10 Sharktastic Facts About Sharks

Several Cracked writers recently disappeared mysteriously while swimming at night, so we’ve been thinking about sharks this week. That includes shark movies of course (terrible shark movies), but also facts about real sharks, animals that are sometimes terrifying and sometimes terrified. Some people are out there stealing or killing sharks, but sharks will surely win in the end. They can survive for centuries, in places where you’d least expect. 

Here's a look back at the facts we learned this week. These short summaries are not meant to be appreciated by themselves—each one links to a full article we put out this past week with much more info, so click every one that interests you, or we will ban you from entering Darren’s tank.

1. Texans stole a shark using a baby stroller. 

To clarify, the Texans were using the baby stroller, not the shark, and while they might sound like bumbling thieves, they successfully moved the shark to a viable aquarium in their own garage. 

2. John Hughes almost made a Jaws sequel. 

The second sequel was going to be a John Hughes comedy titled Jaws 3, People 0. 

3. There are sharks that live in volcanos. 

An underwater volcano named Kavachi, which erupts very regularly, is home to the scalloped hammerhead and the silky shark, which have adapted to the heat and the corrosiveness.

4. Greenland sharks may live to be over 500 years old.

5. An Italian shark movie stole footage from the Jaws movies. 

It was called Cruel Jaws, but was marketed as Jaws 5 in all jurisdictions where they could get away with it. 

6. Yao Ming helped destroy Chinese demand for shark fin soup. 

Shark finning involves cutting the fins off 100 million sharks a year and then discarding the rest of the shark, letting the maimed shark flounder and die. 

7. Sharknado was shot in just 18 days. 

8. In Australia, sharks can walk. 

The epaulette shark wakes on coral when the tide goes out then walks for an hour despite not being able to breathe air. 

9. There’s this fact you might have heard, that says falling coconuts kill more pope annually than sharks.

That fact is nonsense, originated with just two cases of coconuts hitting people, and spread largely thanks to someone selling coconut insurance. 

10. A killer whale scared a shark into fleeing to Hawaii. 

When an orca sank its teeth into one great white shark near San Francisco, every shark in the area fled, and one fled west 2,000 miles. 

Top image: Hermanus Backpackers