Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Shark Attacks

Sharks strike fear in most everyone.

Of course, there’s the Hollywood history of shark films, portraying them as marauding, sometimes mega-sized beasts out to kill swimmers and surfers, and perpetuating that widespread, perhaps exaggerated, terror. But recent studies – like the one published by CSULB’s Shark Lab – show that maybe sharks aren’t so bloodthirsty after all.

Regardless, shark attacks still happen. But where? What time of year? Time of day? Type of shark? If you ever wondered any of those things, you're in luck. There’s an interactive database, tracking everything you ever wanted to know about shark attacks.

The database comes from FloridaPanhandle.com, and it shows all the recorded attacks from 1981 to today. With that data, they’re able to deduce some interesting facts…like:

“In the last 50 years, more shark attacks occurred on Saturdays than on other days of the week.”

“Each year, worldwide, there are approximately 10 deaths attributed to shark attacks (in comparison to 150 deaths worldwide caused by falling coconuts).”

“In the last 50 years, morning is the time of day when most attacks occurred.”

“In the last 50 years, more shark attacks happened in July than in any other month.”

“The most common place to be attacked by a shark in the US is Florida. (Hawaii, California and South Carolina are in the top 4).”

“You have an 89.4% chance of surviving a shark attack.”

The database also offers some tips on how to survive a shark attack, like: “Don’t play dead, maintain eye contact, fight, etc.”

However, even though the database may spawn fear for some readers, the authors reiterated how rare shark attacks are and how sharks aren’t out for surfers’ and swimmers’ blood:

“There is zero proof that sharks hunt people and we know that humans are not part of sharks’ natural diets. Typically, when a shark attacks a human, the shark is either confused or curious.”

Check out the database here.

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