Welcome to Shark Week Facts

Last week was the annual celebrations of sharks on Discovery Channel. This year marks the 34th year of Shark Week - the first one airing in1988. Though I don't currently have cable, I am able to still celebrate through a few apps and other ocean created content. Currently, I'm typing up this blog post while watching the first blockbuster summer movie Jaws. 

I found this pattern on Pinterest. 

Jaws is a fun summer adventure movie - I don't personally consider it a horror movie. However, it is one of the major reasons humans began going after sharks for sport. After the movie's release in 1975, people went out on shark hunting sprees. In doing so, they decimated one of the oldest species still roaming the planet, harming ecosystems, and further throwing ocean life out of balance. 

Sharks can be dangerous, however we humans are entering their space when we go to frolic in the ocean. Sharks are unlikely to kill a person (you're more likely to be killed in a car accident than by a shark) and typically avoid humans. But if you enter their living room, expect them to be curious about your.

Discovery Channel's shark week originally meant to educate viewers on sharks. In recent years, however, it's been more interested in the entertainment side of educational programing. I remember when they started doing their fake mocumentaries on the Megalodon - an ancient shark that's been extinct for over three million years. These mocumentaries made it seem plausible that the Meg (it's "playful" nickname) might still be alive. It's not. Its extinct. 

Other sensationalist programing made great white sharks seems a lot more dangerous than they actually are. True white sharks have the highest number of human fatalities (which is still a small number), but it's the temperamental bull shark that has the most unprovoked attacks against humans. That's primarily because they like to have their babies near estuaries and are known to be difficult to spot in muddy water. They also hang out off the coast of Florida, which is a popular beach spot. 

Sharks are cool and there are a lot of them. There are over 500 species of shark from the famous great white to the lesser known ghost shark. Some sharks are fairly standard looking like the blue shark or the tiger shark, while others look a little odd like the infamous hammer head shark, and then there are the absolutely nightmarish looking sharks like the cookie cutter shark or the goblin shark. Sharks can be tiny like the dwarf lanternshark - only getting to about 7.4 inches long - while the biggest sharks, whale sharks - getting up to 33 feet - eat the smallest ocean life.

Sharks haven't always been thought of as scary creatures of the deep. This is a much more recent development as more people spend time in the oceans. 

In some cultures, sharks prominent members of their folk lore, mythology, and religion. In Hawaii, there are sharks that are gods who are said to be the guardians of the ocean. Some cultures even think of sharks as the embodiment of their ancestors. 

As Shark Week 2022 comes to and end, remember that sharks aren't as scary as movies or dramatized TV shows make them out to be. They're pretty cool, mostly avoid humans, and are revered in some cultures. They are not mindless eating machines, but powerhouse examples of evolutionary specializations. 

And the Megalodon is not hiding out anywhere in our oceans.

I hope you can take some time to appreciate sharks. With climate change happening and human interference, shark populations are still in danger. The world's oceans need sharks and we should respect their awesomeness. 

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like to hear from me.

Welcome to the Jersey Shore

Happy Father's Day!

When I think of my dad and his dad, I often think about the Jersey Shore. As a kid, I'd spend at least a week or two with my family at the shore, just as my dad spent his childhood at there.

It was awesome.

Ocean City New Jersey  - 2019

Though to be fair, I did spend a good three years terrified of the ocean because my grandfather had convinced me that seaweed was mermaid hair. My parents couldn't convince me for the world to get into the water and spent a lot of time at the playground with me instead.

Ocean City New Jersey (same location as above) - 2017

I want all of you to forget about what you've seen, heard, and witnessed regarding the MTV show "The Jersey Shore". First off, they're from New York, not New Jersey. Second, though I'm sure there are areas that resemble the show, I have rarely seen the actual Jersey shore look like it.

Probably because I more often than not go to the southern most tip of America's Armpit (I swear I'm not the one who came up with that, but I do think it's funny) to go to the beach. I'm hoping to change that. Driving all the way down the parkway is neither convenient or cheap, especially if I want to go with friends. There are nice beaches a lot closer to my current home that I'm hoping to go to.

However, the barrier islands along the Cape May county coast all hold a special place in my heart. Atlantic City, though, is to be avoided like the plague.

So here are a few fun facts about one of the oldest beach resort areas in the country.

1) Cape May is not only the southern most tip of New Jersey it is also the oldest beach resort community in the United States

2) The Jersey Shore was part of the inspiration for the 3 of the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels in Florida: The Boardwalk Resort, The Beach Club Resort, and The Yacht Club Resort. I've stayed at the Beach Club Resort and though I like the theme and recommend the resort, the Jersey Shore it ain't. They even have the Cape May Cafe, based off of the resort town.

3) Apparently Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world. I still think Ocean City and Wildwood have better boardwalks (at least as far as my inner child is concerned), but kudos Atlantic City.

4) Speaking of Atlantic City, it is also the city the board game Monopoly takes place in. No wonder boardwalk costs so much.

5) Bruce Springsteen got his start in Asbury Park. Not only did he play in local establishments, but he also recorded his first album there.

6) Though not the true inspiration, the book Jaws references a series of shark attacks that occurred off the Jersey shore in 1916. A huge man eating shark did apparently prowl the Jersey Shore waters over a century ago, but shark attacks are fairly rare overall in the Garden State.

7) The last fatal shark attack in New Jersey was in 1926. Though there have been a few non-fatal shark attacks (the last being in 2013) and the Jersey shore is home to plenty of sharks (I've seen dogfish and small sand sharks), people and sharks rarely interact.

8) Wildwood beaches get longer and longer every year. They're not the longest beaches in the world or even in the United States, but walking out to the ocean in Wildwood is a hike unto itself.

9) The oldest still standing Light House in the United States is in Sandy Hook - which is also where New Jersey's only nude beach is located.

10) Ocean City New Jersey - not to be confused with Ocean City Maryland - is dry. If you want alcohol you gotta either island hope to Atlantic City or head to the mainland.

I hope I've given you guys some insight into the true beauty that is the Jersey Shore. I swear there's no where else on Earth like it.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to Dog Days of Summer

If you're anywhere in the northern hemisphere right now, you've probably noticed that it's hot, like Satan-decided-to-build-a-sauna hot. It feels like we haven't had any relief from the heat since June. We've entered the Dog Days of Summer.

Except, what are the Dog Days of Summer? Why do we refer to the extreme hot weather that occurs between July and August as Dog Days? I know dogs can be cute and fluffy, but unholy hot?

Look at this face!!!

This question popped up while I was at work last week (or I think it was last week - time seems to be melting together as I age). I'd always heard the phrase Dog Days of Summer, in fact I can recall several songs that feature the phrase. Florence + The Machine have the song "Dog Days are Over" and I remember Fear Factor's cover version of "Dog Day Sunrise" (originally by  Head of David) from the mid-nineties. However, I never actually knew what exactly a Dog Day of Summer was.

I'm not entirely sure how the topic was brought up, but I think it had something to do with our office building sponsoring an adopt-a-dog day while it was unbearably hot outside. One of my coworkers explained that it had to do with astronomy, specifically when the star Sirius (not the Harry Potter character) is spotted at sunrise during the summer months. This astronomical occurrence always occurs in a 40 day period after the summer solstice - typically July to August. The star Sirius is part of the dog consultation and literally means the dog star.

Hear that guys, you have a star named for you.

For the Harry Potter fans out there, this is there is a character that turns into a big black dog called Sirius Black,

This cycle has been known and recorded since as early as the ancient Egyptians. For the Egyptians, the rising of the star Sirius signaled the fortuitous time of the year when the Nile River flooded, bringing life to the desert. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac the new moon after the first siting of Sirius also signaled the Egyptian new year.

On the flip side, the ancient Greeks and Romans weren't as fond of this period of summer as the Egyptians. In fact the Greeks thought that Sirius brought heat and drought to the land as well as lethargy and fever to humans. This belief continued until the modern age of science and medicine took over. Apparently purging through vomiting and blood letting was frowned upon during "Dogge daies" of summer because "the Sunne is in Leo" and "then is nature burnt vp & made weake" (from the 1564 English medical book "Hope of Health").

So the next time the Dog Days of Summer are referenced, remember it's not our best furry friends that are being blamed for the heat. It's just an extremely bright star in the sky.

Also while we're on the subject of our furry friends, please remember that the heat does affect doggies too. Keep your dog well hydrated and try to keep their paws off of the pavement while the sun is directly shining down on it. We wear shoes, dogs don't.

Stay cool until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome To Fun Facts

Because I am a wealth of useless information...

I enjoy history, but it can be dull and dry. That's why there are fun facts. They can take the form of amusing events, strange coincidences and even the most epic of fails to deserve Darwin Awards. Fun facts can be interesting and great conversation starters. 

For example the northern most palm tree on the East coast (and possibly in general, but I'd have to fact check that) is in Williamsburge VA. They apparently don't like snow. I hope it had a scarf for this past winter.

What does this have to do with have to do with my life (I.e. Why is this a blog post). Well, I'm about to pack up my whole life and move four hours north. One of my favorite ways to get to know an area is to learn the local quirks. 

A fun fact about New Jersey is that you can't pump your own gas. This is both frustrating and costly, but at least I don't have to leave my nice warm car in the winter anymore.

Things like how or when a building was built or the reason a town is laid out the way it is all help me to get to know a place. They can be fun, spooky, and maybe even a bit scandalous. It can be worth while when showing off the new neighborhood.

Hopefully by next week spring will have actually arrived and we can spend some time outside. Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), pleas like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Now go out and find some fun facts about your hometown and share them. Have a good week.