Summer is here, and that means another Shark Week 2019 is upon us! Watching Shark Week on Discovery Channel is one of my favorite summer traditions. I love learning about sharks and ocean conservation. (I also love that I get to pretend I’m at the beach when I am, in fact, at home in Ohio.) I celebrated Shark Week 2018 last year by writing a post with 10 shark fun facts and a shark printable. This year I’m back with more shark facts, but this time I have shark inspired nail art to share!
Get Ready for Shark Week 2019 with Shark Facts and Shark Inspired Nail Art
Why should you watch Shark Week?
Shark Week is so much more than a week-long marathon of shark shows. Discovery Channel has hosted Shark Week every summer since 1988, and every year these shows bring awareness to shark and ocean conservation. Unfortunately, sharks are vilified thanks to the media’s tendency to play up the “Jaws” stereotype in order to sell stories (Sharktrust.org). Shark Week helps to combat this stereotype by educating viewers with shark facts. This education not only protects sharks, but it also helps people to be safer while swimming in the ocean.
Shark Facts
Shark Week 2019 begins tonight, Sunday July 28th, at 8pm, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until tonight to start improving your shark education. Here are 10 shark facts to get you ready for Shark Week 2019:
- Sharks can go into a trance. If a shark is flipped upside down, it will go into a trance like state called “tonic immobility.” But don’t try this at home (or at the ocean), kids!
- Sharks have a sixth sense. They use tiny organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini to detect electrical fields generated by other animals (including humans).
- There are approximately 500 shark species. (And not all of them live in the ocean!)
- Shark tourism generates more than 300 million dollars (annually!).
- Sharks are important for the world. In addition to helping with ecotourism (see fact #4), they also inspire smart design and they help manage the ocean’s carbon cycle.
- 100 million sharks are killed annually, mostly as by-catch (they are caught in fishing nets used to catch fish for consumption) and for their fins (sharkfin soup is a delicacy in Asia).
- Most sharks have to keep swimming in order to breathe.
- Shark attacks spike in September, and the most dangerous times to swim are at dawn and dusk (breakfast and dinner times for sharks).
- Low and slow shark reproduction rates are not enough to combat the amount of sharks killed each year.
- Sharks are APEX predators. They are at the top of the marine food chain. Without them, the marine ecosystem suffers.
Want more shark facts before Shark Week 2019 officially begins tonight? Check out our post from last year and learn 10 more shark facts before Shark Week 2019 begins! (You will also find a free shark word art printable!)
Shark Inspired Nail Art
To get your own shark inspired nails, start with a blue base coat (I like to use a turquoise base). Apply two coats, then seal with a top coat when dry.
When your base is ready, paint the shark fins with a silver nail polish. I find that it’s easier to do the outline first, then fill it in. I usually only do one coat of the silver, but you can do another coat if you need it.
When the silver polish is dry, outline it with black nail polish using a fine-tip nail polish brush. This requires patience and a steady hand.
Finally, when the black nail polish is dry, finish with another top coat to seal it all. And voila, you have shark inspired nail art!
Need more sharks in your life? Check out these shark toys to fill that shark-shaped void in your heart.
I love reading little known facts like this. And that manicure is awesome!!