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Monthly Spotlight: Shark Week

Shark Week

Shark Week debuted in 1988 and is now the longest-running programming event. This year will be the 33rd anniversary of Shark Week. It's thought that it took off in 2006 because of a 30 Rock episode where they quote "Live every week like it's Shark Week," but it's also been referenced and a series of other shows since then, including in an interview with Stormy Daniels on 60 Minutes. The long list of other movies and shows about sharks has also hyped it up over the years, from Guy Fieri's Feeding Frenzy to Megalodon. 

The hype was originally to bring viewership to the scary and terrifying world of sharks, but has evolved over the years, including helping with conservation and highlighting the problems shark populations face. It also keeps people interested based on the facts that while they can be dangerous, attacks are few and far between, and most people are far enough away that sharks won't affect them. --NPR

Learn more about Shark Week with these articles:

Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" is Packed with Misinformation and Junk Science

Discovery 2025's Shark Week: Hosted by Tom Bergeron

Catch up on some Shark Week Podcasts

Fun Facts about Sharks: (Brought to you by NOAA Fisheries, Reader's Digest, & Australian Museum)

  • Sharks don't have bones
  • Most sharks have good eyesight
  • Sharks have special electroreceptor organs
    • They use it to sense electromagnetic fields and temperature shifts
  • Shark skin feels like sandpaper
  • Sharks can go into a trance
    • When upside down, they go into tonic immobility
  • Sharks have been around for about 455 million years
    • They coexisted with dinosaurs
    • They are older than trees
  • Scientists age sharks by counting the rings on their vertebrae
  • Blue sharks are really blue
  • The whale shark's spot pattern is unique, like a fingerprint
  • Not all sharks have the same teeth
  • Female sharks have thicker skin
  • Some female sharks can reproduce independently
  • Humans kill more sharks than sharks kill humans
  • Only 3 shark species are responsible for most human bites and fatalities
    • Bull, tiger, and white sharks
  • The US sees more shark attacks than any other country
    • But very few fatalities
  • Megalodon was the largest shark that ever lived
  • Some sharks glow in the dark
  • Sharks continuously shed and regrow their teeth
  • Sharks are important to reef conservation
  • They are affected by the full moon