Shark Fact #15

Almost all sharks like to do their hunting solo, but scalloped hammerhead sharks prefer to travel in schools during their summer migration

Shark Fact #14

Surfers are more likely to die from drowning than from a shark attack, but it is true that great whites can be confused and intrigued by the shape of a surfboard. From beneath the surface, a great white might mistake the board's outline for that of a seal, walrus or sea lion.

Who is Peter Benchley?

Peter Benchley spent his summers on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, and when, he would go sailing or fishing – or even, sometimes, just swimming in the surf- the black dorsal fins of sharks could be seen slicing through the surface of the sea. He had always been fascinated by sharks.

His fascination continued through his years at Phillips Exeter Academy (1957) and Harvard College (’61), and when he became a professional writer in the 1960’s, he took every opportunity to do articles about sharks. In 1964,  there was a newspaper item about a fisherman who caught a 4,550-lb. Great White Shark not far offshore from Montauk, Long Island, and Benchley wondered what would happen if such a huge shark were to appear in a seaside resort community.  At the time did nothing with the idea, but seven years later Benchley began to weave it into the story that would become the novel ”Jaws.”

After graduation from college, Benchley traveled around the world for a year and wrote a book about the trip(“Time And A Ticket”),  he served briefly in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and, at last, got a job and settled down as a reporter for The Washington Post. In 1964, he moved to Newsweek, where he was the Radio & TV editor, and then, in 1967, Benchley was hired as a junior speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson. When President Johnson left office in January of 1969, he began a career as a freelance writer.

Benchley wrote stories for dozens of newspapers and magazines, including National Geographic, The New Yorker, LIFE, and The New York Times. He wrote novels – seven more following “Jaws,” including “The Deep” and “The Girl Of The Sea Of Cortez” – and when, occasionally, the novels were bought by movie companies, Benchley wrote their screenplays.

Always, though, Benchley continued to be interested in sharks and the sea, and his family and he have dived all over the world with wonderful creatures. He has written, narrated and been in dozens of television documentaries about marine life. In 2005 he was a full-time marine conservationist, writing and speaking about the issues facing our oceans and their precious inhabitants … including, of course, sharks.

Benchley died in February 2006 at the age of sixty-five. 

Some sources....

Peter Benchley, author of Jaws and Shark Trouble writes,

"Shark attacks on human beings generate a tremendous amount of media coverage partly because they occur so rarely, but mostly, I think, because people are, and always have been, simultaneously intrigued and terrified by sharks. Sharks come from a wing of the dark castle where our nightmares live- deep water beyond our sight and understanding- and so they simulate our fears and fantasies and imaginations."    

I thought decided that this would be a great starting point for my paper. I am going to compare two of Benchley's works, Jaws, a work of fiction, and Shark Trouble, a book of true stories about sharks and the sea. From here I will analyze the difference between storybook sharks verse the natural being of sharks.    

Shark Fact #13

Headed to shark-filled waters? Pack your boxing gloves. Punching a shark in the nose or poking its eyes can help to fend it off during an attack. Aim for the sensitive eyes or gills — or, if your aim is off, the much bigger target of the snout. Most sharks don't want to work that hard for their food and will swim away

Here is a free class to help prepare you- http:
http://laboxing.com/landings/free_workout/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=boxing%20classes&gclid=CKqgysS7lbQCFcXb4Aod5UYAGA

Shark Fact # 12

A common myth is that sharks don't attack in the middle of the day. And that may be true — but it's likely because most beachgoers get out of the water to rest or eat at lunchtime, so there aren't as many people around to cross paths with sharks. Sharks don't follow the same three meals-a-day eating schedule as humans, they eat when they find food, no matter what time it is.