Sharks! Jaws! Summer Terror!

Summer of `75. We all know what happened that innocent summer - our families took to the beaches while a movie opened up that kept us on the sand instead of the water. Jaws mania was so powerful that folks were afraid of lakes and even swimming pools! Let's take a look at Jaws Mania and shark attacks -

JAWS

Trivia

Several decades later, Lee Fierro, who plays Mrs. Kintner, walked into a seafood restaurant and noticed that the menu had an "Alex Kintner Sandwich". She commented that she had played his mother so many years ago. The owner of the restaurant ran out to meet her - none other than Jeffrey Voorhees, who had played her son. They hadn't seen each other since the original movie shoot. (IMDB)

It is also said this actress couldn't fake slap, so she really slapped Roy Scheider.

Collectibles

As we go into summer, let's have a look at some of the ways you can honor your love for "Jaws," the beloved movie that had us all humming the music to freak out our friends at the local pool.

Wanna show the love for Jaws - here's some ways -

Quint-inspired sleeping bag

And, yes, I am a HUGE "Jaws" fan. In fact, it is my favorite movie of all time!

Shark Attacks

Lets start with sharks at the beginning - the prototype, the ancient creature called "Megalodon." (above) This extinct species lived between 28 million years ago to 1-1/2 million years ago. It grew an amazing 46-59 feet long! With 7-inch long teeth, this monster ruled the oceans.

Rodney Fox (above) is lucky even though he was not so lucky. In 1963, he was in Australia when he was diving without oxygen and a shark grabbed him up. After a few grabs and release, he was pulled down underwater. He got free just before he took on water and was pulled into the boat. His insides were basically completely exposed, so they opted to keep the wetsuit on him to hold him together and to keep his organs from falling out. Amazingly, they repaired him. One of the luckier ones who survived an open water attack.

Here's an interview with a survivor -

Survivor Hero

Bethany Hamilton-Dirks

In October 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton was surfing in Kauai in Hawaii. She was lying on the board, her left arm in the water when a tiger shark bit her arm off below the shoulder. Her father fashioned a tourniquet and they got her medical help. Most adults would never get in the water again, but after her rehabilitation, Bethany went back to surfing and, in fact, is a professional surfer. If that isn't awe-inspiring and an amazing message of regaining one's life with a new reality, than I don't know what is!

How to avoid shark attacks

Avoid known shark-infested waters

Avoid polluted waters

Avoid fishing boats and areas

Wear a wet suit

Swim with a pole while you drive

Don't splash

Swim in a group

Smooth movements by sharks means just checking things out, but if they thrash, beware!

Dawn, dusk, and nighttime are the most dangerous times

If you're bleeding, get out of the water.

Swimming with sharks? Think again -

What to do if attacked

Don't take your eyes off the shark, know where it is

Don't make sudden movements, stay calm

Gently turn yourself so you can watch the shark coming and going or go back to back with another swimmer to watch

Hit the shark in the face, eye or gills strongly - do not play dead it doesn't work - be a threat!

Planning a vacation at the beach but wonder about the statistics of most white shark unprovoked attacks?

Western US - 98

South Africa - 58

Australia - 57

Mediterranean - 22

New Zealand - 10

Eastern US - 7

South America - 3

Japan - 2

Hawaii - 1

South Korea -1

Caribbean - 1

Mexico - 1

Shark Trivia

The oldest shark fossils date back 300,000,000 years ago!

There are more than 400 shark species today

The shark's skeleton is made with cartilage, not bone

Sharks live 25-30 years

The Odds

Odds of mega win on the lottery - 1 in 259 million

Odds of lightning strike are 1 in 78,000

Odds of being hit by fireworks at a show 1 in 341,000

Odds of dying in a car accident are 1 in 84

Odds of a shark attack are 1 in 3.7 million

Shark movies

(descriptions from IMDB)

Sharknado (2013) When a freak hurricane swamps Los Angeles, nature's deadliest killer rules sea, land, and air as thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace.

Jaws (1975) When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and a grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.

The Reef (2010) A great white shark hunts the crew of a capsized sailboat along the Great Barrier Reef.

Swamp Shark (2011) Open on gorgeous swamplands of the Atchafalaya Basin in the summer. Lots of beautiful teens are at the beach the weekend before Gator Fest. That night an animal smuggling deal goes wrong and a large sea creature escapes into a swampy backwoods river. At the McDaniel's "Gator Shack" restaurant, a local, Jackson is drunk, and gets mangled to bits. The town sheriff blames the carnage on the McDaniel's "escaped" pack of gators and tries hauling them off to jail. Rachel McDaniel, head of the family, claims to have seen the fin of a shark! Rachel and her family, along with the help of a mysterious stranger, Charlie, take on the Swampshark and the law to clear their names, save Rachel's kid sister Krystal and prevent the unwitting folks at the upcoming Gator Fest from being torn to shreds by a beast the likes of which no one has ever seen!

Shark Attack (1999) In a once serene African fishing village, a marine biologist goes in search of some answers when his friend becomes a victim in one of a series of brutal shark attacks.

Soul Surfer (2011) Teenage surfer Bethany Hamilton overcomes the odds and her own fears of returning to the water after losing her left arm in a shark attack.

12 Days of Terror (2004) For 12 days in July, 1916, a shark patrolled the waterways of northern New Jersey. This docudrama is based on Richard Fernicola's account of those days.

Open Water (2003) When two divers find themselves stranded in the ocean, getting rescued becomes the least of their worries when a frenzy of hungry sharks close in on them.

Shark Swarm (2008) A fisherman and his family fight to take down a greedy real estate developer who has released toxins into the ocean, turning the area's sharks into bloodthirsty hunters.

Red Water (2003) A freshwater shark wreaks havoc as it heads up a Louisiana river.

- Here's the 3-movie collection of Jaws -

Comments

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GHOST HUNTERS

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