Whatcha doin’ this Sunday? Kicking back? Barbecuing? Hanging out by the pool with the family?

No you’re not.  Why?  Because it is Shark Week, people!  We must get ready!

Sunday marks the first day of the longest-running annual special on the Discovery Channel – Shark Week.

Since they were just little tots, my kiddos have loved everything sharks, alligators and crocodiles.  Because there is nothing cooler when you are a boy, right?  To quote my little man, “Sharks are the BOMB, mom!”

So when shark week arrives every year, we pop popcorn and settle in to watch the crazy fools dedicated to creating programs centered around the sharkys.

If your family is as obsessed enamored of sharks as we are then you might find some of these facts interesting:

• The first official Shark Week aired in 1988.
• Blue sharks are piggy eaters. They’ll keep eating until they regurgitate, after which they go back to eating! (I totally relate, shark! Not that I have ever done that with chocolate fudge ice cream or anything.)
• If a shark sinks its teeth into your arms during a shark attack, your best bet is to latch on to the shark. Sharks like to whip their prey around in order to break off chunks of meat, so the closer you stay to the shark, the better your chance of keeping your limb. (Ahem. Good to know.)
• Great white sharks are picky eaters. Their diet requires lots of fat, and after one bite a great white shark can determine whether or not the meal will satisfy its nutritional needs. If it doesn’t, the shark will leave the rest and swim away.  (Crap, another reason I need to stick to my diet.)
• Shark attacks occur around California because U.S. government protection of sea mammals, like seals, sea lions and sea otters, has increased their populations off the West Coast. There’s more food for sharks there, and humans just get in the way.  (Californians, are y’all just crazy or what?)

Tags: Discovery Channel, Great white shark, Shark attack, Shark Week

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