Shark Week

9 Stories

Scientists Probe the Possibility of 'Cocaine Sharks'

Investigation to air as part of Discovery's Shark Week

(Newser) - Last month alone, the US Coast Guard seized more than 14,100 pounds of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. That's a lot of cocaine and suggests the drug, dumped by smugglers and picked up by currents, could make its way to marine life, including sharks. You'...

'Biggest Scam of 2017': Phelps' Race Against a Great White

Fans didn't realize he'd be racing against computer-generated sharks, not real ones

(Newser) - It was supposed to be the event of the summer. Well, OK, an event of the summer—but Michael Phelps fans still had high hopes for the swimming champ's much-hyped race Sunday against a bunch of sharks. They didn't read the fine print, however, and People and the...

Michael Phelps' Next Opponent Has Never Heard of Him

Because it's a dang great white shark

(Newser) - Is he high ? Mashable reports Michael Phelps will race a great white shark for Discovery Channel's inescapable Shark Week. The mechanics of the race are unclear—Mashable is concerned the shark won't understand it's supposed to race the Olympian, not eat him—and a press release...

Shark Week Once Mattered; Now It's a Joke

Alan Yuhas: Discovery abandons science in quest for ratings

(Newser) - The Discovery Channel's Shark Week is under way again, but it can't end soon enough for Alan Yuhas at the Guardian . Discovery now prefers schlock to science, as evidenced by the fictional documentary Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives that kicked off this year's festivities. When it began...

NYC Subway Passenger: Dead Shark

Another passes out outside a bar in Nantucket

(Newser) - NYC subway riders got a taste—and smell—of what Shark Week is all about in the wee hours of yesterday morning when they found a dead shark riding the Queens-bound N train. The creature, described by CNN as 1.5 feet in length and no more than 10 pounds,...

Forget Shark Week, Cow Week Is Here

Turns out bovines are more dangerous than sharks

(Newser) - Maggie Koerth-Baker was astounded when she learned that cows actually kill more people than sharks—27 times more people, at least between 2003 and 2008. It made her think about "the way we talk about sharks" and "the way we think about risk," she writes on Boing...

Andy Samberg to Host Shark Week
 Shark Week to Be Hosted by... 
Apr 21, 2011 11:14 AM CDT

Shark Week to Be Hosted by...

...Andy Samberg of 'SNL' fame

(Newser) - Last year, the Discovery Channel used a non-Discovery star to host Shark Week for the first time—and it worked out well for them, with the largest audience ever (31 million) tuning in to the Craig Ferguson-hosted event. So this year, the network is following the same formula: Saturday Night ...

Brazilian Business Accused of Mutilating Sharks for Fins
 Brazilian Business Accused 
 of Mutilating Sharks for Fins
Shark Week Bummer
Aug 3, 2010 11:11 AM CDT

Brazilian Business Accused of Mutilating Sharks for Fins

Shark fin soup is the hot ticket in Asia

(Newser) - Here’s a story sure to rain on your Shark Week parade: A Brazilian environmental advocacy group is suing a Brazilian seafood exporter, alleging that it has been capturing sharks, cutting off their fins, and throwing the severely wounded creatures back into the water. Removing a shark’s fin is...

5 Fun Facts About 'Shark Week'
 5 Fun Facts About 'Shark Week' 
Aug 2, 2010 12:01 PM CDT

5 Fun Facts About 'Shark Week'

Audiences love it, activists not so much

(Newser) - It’s Shark Week! Time offers a brief history of Discovery Channel’s popular annual event:
  • An oldie but a goodie: It’s been around since 1987, just two years after the channel launched, making it cable’s longest-running event.
  • Average viewers: It’s one of the most popular television
...

9 Stories