45 Shocking Facts about Sharks

The movie "Jaws" was supposed to feature a mechanical shark, but after several malfunctions, Spielberg decided to film from the shark's point of view and suggest the presence of the shark via composer John William's musical theme.

2. More people now die taking selfies than from shark attacks.

3. Greenland Sharks are estimated to live to upto 500 years old.

4. Sharks have been around longer than trees. Sharks appeared 400 million years ago while trees appeared 350 million years ago.

5. Every year hundreds of Great White Sharks migrate to a random area in the mid-Pacific ocean and loiter around, no one knowing why. This area has been coined as the "White Shark Cafe."

Female sand tiger sharks have two uteri carrying hundreds of eggs, but the strongest embryo in each eats off all other eggs and hatchlings near it. Only two babies are born later - one from each uterus.

7. Shark's teeth are actually scales. That's why they can infinitely grow them back.

8. Odds of being attacked by a candiru (penis invading fish) are "about the same as being struck by lightning while simultaneously being eaten by a shark."

9. In 1935, a shark on display in an Australian aquarium vomited up a human arm. There were no tooth marks anywhere and the limb had been cleanly removed with a blade. The investigation resulted in a man shooting himself in the head before leading police boats on a hours-long chase.

10. Vending machines kill more people per year than sharks. Vending machines kill an average of 13 people a year, sharks 5.

An Orca can put a great white shark to sleep by turning it over on its back. The Orca then drowns the shark, only to eat the liver and the tongue.

12. In 1982, during the dissection of a mother tiger shark, a scientist named Stewart Springer reaching into the birth canal was bitten by a tiger shark embryo, which are notoriously cannibalistic. This is the only recorded instance where someone was bitten by an unborn animal.

13. Shark's teeth are coated with fluoride, which acts like toothpaste and keeps the shark's mouth healthy and clean.

14. The Greenland shark is a giant species of shark that lives under ice near the north pole and eats polar bears. Vikings used to hunt them and eat their flesh even though it stinks and tastes like pee.

15. Humans aren't appropriate prey for great white sharks because their digestion is too slow to cope with the high ratio of bone to muscle and fat.

Park officials of the Roatan Marine Park in Honduras have attempted to train sharks to feed on lionfish as of 2011 in an attempt to control the invasive lionfish populations in the Caribbean.

17. Internet cables that cross the Atlantic Ocean on the sea bed are only as thick as a Magic Marker Pen in deep seas. Sharks like chewing these cables though it's not known why. Sharks can sense electromagnetic fields so they may be attracted to the current.

18. When filming Jaws 2, cast members were circled by actual hammerhead sharks. Because the scene called for the actors to yell for help, the crew did not immediately realize they were in danger.

19. In the last 64 years, humans have slain 90% of the world's sharks.

20. In 2008, a female Atlantic blacktip shark gave birth without having sex. This is the second recorded case of asexual reproduction in sharks.

There is a rather large population of Bull sharks living in the brisbane river in Australia.

22. More people are bitten each year by New Yorkers than by sharks.

23. Because Sharks have no rib cages, on land their weight can literally crush their own body.

24. Ocean fish, rays, turtles and sharks stop at cleaning stations, where smaller shrimp and fish clean them off parasites, even swimming into their mouth and gills to do a thorough job.

25. "Deep Blue", one of the largest great white sharks ever filmed, is estimated to be over 50 years old and was (at the time) pregnant!