thefactcollector

[thefactcollector]

Most interesting ways to become a saint:

Saint Erasmus / Saint Elmo – As Bishop of Formia, Erasmus was imprisoned as part of the Roman Emperor's persecution of Christians, but he miraculously escaped prison and then survived the first two of three attempts on his life. First, the Roman emperor ordered that he be rolled down a hill in a barrel full of spikes. When he survived that, the emperor had him whipped, coated in pitch, and set on fire, which he also survived. Unfortunately for Erasmus, a third attempt to kill him worked, but his commitment to living earned him a sainthood. [read more]

Saint Denis – Denis of Paris was beheaded as a martyr but is said to have then picked up his head and walked for many miles. His head preached a sermon on repentance the whole way. [read more]

Saint Lawrence – As a deacon of the Roman church, Lawrence angered the prefect of Rome who in turn ordered that he be cooked to death. After suffering for a while he is said to have exclaimed to his torturers: "I am cooked on that side; turn me over, and eat!" [read more]

Saint Januarius – Januarius was a bishop in Naples who was sentenced to death by the Roman emperor. Depending on who's telling the story, Januarius was either thrown to wild beasts but they refused to eat him, or he was thrown into a fire but walked out unharmed. Either way, it seems he was somehow executed at some point and a bystander managed to save a vial of his blood. This blood which is now rather solid after 1700 years of being stored is said to miraculously liquefy several times a year. Some people believe this is because his body is "impatient while waiting for its resurrection" [read more]

Saint Julian – When Julian was born, pagan witches put a curse on him that would make him involuntarily kill both his parents when he was older. Not wishing to harm his parents, Julian left at the age of 10 and moved far away. Twenty years later, he ran into his parents again and, in a misunderstanding, he killed them. Full of remorse, he vowed to spend the rest of his life doing good which eventually resulted in his canonization. [read more]

Other sources: 'The 10 Most Unusual Catholic Patron Saints' on thecollector.com and '15 Unusual Patron Saints' on mentalfloss.com

[thefactcollector]

That's the end of my shark facts series. I'm sure I'll return to sharks again in the future but, for now, I'm moving on to some mythology and history ✌️

[thefactcollector]

Things that have been named after sharks

Military:

Blackburn Shark – British carrier-borne torpedo bomber aircraft

HMS Shark – an S-class submarine of the Royal Navy that fought in the Second World War (as well as several other Royal Navy vessels)

Mako Shark or XP-755 – a Chevrolet concept car

Mako missile – a hypersonic air-to-air missile by Lockheed Martin

The Sharks (Royal Navy) – a helicopter display team that operated between 1975 and 1992

USS Shark – a schooner of the early United States Navy from 1821 until it sank in 1846 (as well as several US Navy submarines)

Music:

Two British rock bands have named themselves ‘Sharks’ – one in 1972 and one in 2007

and then there's The Sharks, an American new wave band

and Hammerhead, an American noise rock band

and a plethora of songs with 'shark' or names of shark species in the title

Art and entertainment:

King Shark, the DC Comics supervillain

Hammerhead, the Marvel Comics supervillain

A heavy helicopter gunship in Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is called 'Hammerhead'

A gas station and repair shop in Final Fantasy XV is also called 'Hammerhead'

Task Force Mako – an elite American task force in the video game Medal of Honor: Warfighter

Sharks! – an art installation in London by architect Jaimie Shorten

Places:

Shark, Arkansas, USA

Shark Bay, Western Australia

Shark Lake, Western Australia

Shark Peak, Antarctica

Shark Valley, Florida, USA

There is an animal rights organization called Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), founded in 1993 as the Fox Valley Animal Protectors.

A bunch of sports teams have been inspired by sharks, including (but not limited to) a Nigerian football team called Sharks F.C., a Chinese basketball team called Shanghai Sharks, and the Tasman Mako rugby team in Aotearoa New Zealand.

[thefactcollector]

Happy birthday to Johann Christoph Denner, the German musician and instrument maker who was born on this day (13th August) in 1655. Denner is credited with improving the design of the chalumeau and inventing the clarinet (although this latter credit has been debated).

[thefactcollector]

Kawariki and Tutira – a Māori legend

According to Māori legend, Kawariki, the daughter of a tohunga (high-ranking expert), who was destined to be leader one day, befriended and then fell in love with Tutira, a young peasant man. However, her father had arranged for her to be married to a rangatira (chief) from another iwi (tribe) and he forbid her from seeing Tutira. Kawariki was strong-willed though, and would sneak out at night to spend time with Tutira, and their love deepened.

When her father found out that she was still seeing Tutira, he was so angry that he used magic (that he had been entrusted with by the gods) to turn Tutira into a shark.

Fortunately, with a magical blessing from the goddess Hinemoana, Tutira was able to transform back into a man when the new moon rose. Him and Kawariki were once again able to spend time together (but only until morning when he would transform back into a shark and had to return to the ocean). Their love continues to deepen.

When the rangatira and his entourage were arrived for the wedding, Hinemoana became angered that Kawariki was still being forced into this marriage and sent a giant wave that overturned the waka (canoes). Tutira, who was guarding the bay (as a shark), saw the visitors were in danger and quickly swept in, dragging them to shore and saving all their lives.

Kawariki’s father saw that the gods must favour her union with Tutira and, ashamed, he reversed his spell, turning Tutira back into a man forever. The wedding plans were quickly changed and Kawariki and Tutira married.

[Source: mataurangamaori.tki.org.nz]

[thefactcollector]

The Lusca – Caribbean Terror

The lusca is a mythological sea monster in Caribbean folklore said to live near Andros (Bahamas), sinking ships and drowning swimmers. The lusca is often described as a 23-metre-long, half shark, half octopus creature but is sometimes simply portrayed as a giant octopus or a giant cuttlefish.

[Fact source: Wikipedia] [Image source: groteskology.blogspot.com]

[thefactcollector]

Isonade – Japan's shark monster

There is a story in Japanese mythology of the isonade/磯撫で (literally translates to "beach stroker"), a huge, shark-like sea monster that is said to live off the coast of Western Japan. The isonade is never fully seen; only it's massive tail fin, covered in barbs, is visible when it strikes.

According to legend, the isonade uses this barbed tail to hook sailors off boats and drag them into the sea, and it is even said that it will drag people off beaches in a similar manner.

[Source: Wikipedia]

[thefactcollector]

Three shark gods from the Pacific

Kamohoaliʻi is a protector god and guide in the waters around Maui and Kahoolawe (Hawai’i). It is said that, if a vessel is lost, sailors can give an offering of awa (kava) to Kamohoaliʻi and he will guide them home. Kamohoaliʻi is often portrayed as a shark but could take on the form of any fish, and also human form.

[Read more: Wikipedia and hawaii.edu]

Ukupanipo is another deity from Hawai’i that takes the form of a shark. Ukupanipo is responsible for controlling the amount of fish available to fishermen.

Dakuwaqa (Dakuwanga) is a Fijian god who is portrayed as half man, half shark. Similar to Kamohoaliʻi, Dakuwaqa is a protector for Kadavu Island (and sometimes all Fijian islands) and for sailors at sea.

[Read more: Wikipedia]

[thefactcollector]

Happy birthday to Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi, the Persian astronomer, who was born on this day (10th August) in 787. He wrote many manuals for training astrologers which greatly influenced the intellectual history of both the Muslim world and western Europe, and he is said to have been the greatest astrologer of the Abbasid court in Baghdad.

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epaulette shark pups 🦈

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Binomial name: Hemiscyllium ocellatum

Conservation status: least concern

Habitat: shallow water (up to 50 metres); they prefer tidal pools and coral reefs

Worldwide range: around Australia and along the southern coast of New Guinea

Lifespan: unknown (not enough data but it's estimated they reach sexual maturity around 7 years old)

Length: commonly 70 to 90cm, with the largest confirmed specimen measuring 107cm

Gill count: 5 pairs

Diet: benthic crustaceans (mostly crabs), worms, and small fish

Reproduction: oviparous (deposits eggs outside the body which then hatch)

First classified: initially classified as Squalus ocellatus by Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre in 1788; changed to Hemiscyllium ocellatum at a later date

Source: ‘Epaulette shark’ on Wikipedia

Shark Fact

Epaulette sharks, a small type of reef shark, can "walk" on land during low tides. They do this by their pectoral and pelvic fins evolving to be more like feet so that they can crawl outside of the water from pool to pool during low tide.

They are able to lower their hearts and the rate at which they need to breath to be able to go outside of the water.

Walking on land allows for better hunting as well as to move to more oxygenated pools of water.

[thefactcollector]

Links to extra info:

1. Lemon sharks have a buddy system – "Researchers found that sharks spent significantly more time in the compartments closest to other sharks, even though there was no survival advantage—meaning they wanted to spend time together,"

Btw, a group of sharks is called a shiver.

2. Great white sharks can change the color of their upper body – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/great-white-sharks-may-change-their-color-to-sneak-up-on-prey

3. More on the ampullae of Lorenzini

8. More on the dark shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus) which is also known as the 'pretty happy'

9. More on cookiecutter sharks (Isistius brasiliensis) which are also called cigar sharks

Top ten shark facts? 🦈

I mean I don't rly rank shark facts, so heres just ten random ones:

1. Lemon sharks have a buddy system, where they will stick to another shark for higher chances of survival. They swim so closely to each other sometimes, that it looks as if they're holding hands...or rather fins.

2. Great white sharks can change the color of their upper body half to better match the surrounding water aka they're capable of camouflaging themselves!

3. Hammerheads are amazing at finding prey, due to the hammer having a bigger amount of ampullae of lorenzini (tiny organs that can detect electromagnetic fields). They swerve their hammer left and right to scan the area and can detect stuff like stingrays even when they are buried in the sand.

4. The waters around Australia have the biggest variety in shark species! If you want to encounter loads of different ones, thats the place to go! Theres said to be over 150 species there!

5. Sharks have the ability to remember and recognize humans. They respond positively cuddly to divers that have helped them before and Cristina Zenato (the women thats known for removing hooks from sharks) has described experiences where the shark will lie in her lap and let her remove the hook peacefully, because it knows she will help. This speaks a lot for their intelligence.

6. There are shark species that are capable of biofluorescence (absorbing & the reemitting light) and bioluminescense (producing the light themselves). An example for the first one would be shy swell sharks and an example for the latter are kitefin sharks.

7. Tiger sharks are known as the garbage cans of the ocean, because they are capable of eating absolutely everything. Not only do they have super strong jaws & teeth, but their stomachs are actually highly acidic and have barely any problems breaking down the weirdest things.

8. The dark shyshark gets the second half of its name due to its reaction when threatend. It actually curls up and puts its tail over its eyes!

9. The cookiecutter shark actually cuts cookie shaped holes into its prey and usually does that while the prey is still moving, kinda like a snack to go. They also are known for biting into submarines.

10. The hierarchy between different shark species in an area is not always just determined by size or strength. The amount of time the shark has spend there and how familiar it is with the environment, plays a role as well! Some researchers observed a big shark making place for the smaller ones, because it was still new to the area.

(All facts stem from documentaries, scientific papers or the pages of professional divers. I do however not guarantee that they are definitely correct, or haven't been disproven since)

[thefactcollector]

Daily fish fact #592

Bramble shark!

It swims just above the seafloor and vacuums smaller prey into its mouth. It has distinctive thorn-like dermal denticles!

[thefactcollector]

Bramble shark

Binomial name: Echinorhinus brucus

Also known as: spinous shark or spiny shark

Conservation status: endangered

Habitat: close to the bottom of the seafloor, normally at 400 to 900 metres

Worldwide range: in all tropical and temperate waters except for the eastern Pacific Ocean

Lifespan: unknown (not enough data)

Length: up to 3.1 metres

Gill count: 5 pairs

Diet: smaller sharks, some other fish, and crabs

Reproduction: aplacental viviparous (embryos develop inside eggs inside the mother's body, hatching just before birthing), making use of two uteruses; litters of 15 to 52 pups

Evolved: unknown

First classified: in 1788, Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre classified it as Squalus brucus; Henri de Blainville created the genus Echinorhinus for it in 1816

Interesting features:

Bramble sharks are brown or black on their upper body and this region is also described as having a “metallic purplish hue”. Some have red or black blotches.

Rather than having an even spread of dermal denticles, the bramble shark has clusters of denticles “scattered irregularly over the body… Each denticle is thornlike in shape, with ridges radiating out from the central point over the base. As many as ten denticles may be fused together to form multi-pointed plates.”

The dorsal fins are located quite far back on the body compared to many other shark species

The skin of the bramble shark is covered in a foul-smelling mucus. It is thought that this deters predators that might see the slow-moving bramble shark as an easy snack.

Source: 'Bramble shark' on Wikipedia, sharksider.com/bramble-shark, and sharktruth.com/bramble-shark

[thefactcollector]

GUYS

GUYS

SHARKS WILL CURL UP IN BALLS

LOOK

[thefactcollector]

DYK some sharks can store sperm and fertilize their ova at a later date? For example...

"In female gummy sharks, sperm has been detected in both maturing and mature females. They can store sperm up to one year prior to first ovulation. The sperm is stored in sperm storage tubules of the terminal zone in the oviducal gland structure. However, it can also be found in other parts of the reproduction track... It can potentially be stored for up to 13 months or longer." [source]

[thefactcollector]

Happy birthday to Empress Kōgyoku (皇極天皇), also known as Empress Saimei (斉明天皇), the 35th and 37th Empress (Tennō) of Japan/Nihon and second woman to rule Japan, who was born on this day (7th August) in 594!