Things I've Learned From Darcy's Obsessions

Most people probably don't know that Wilbur Wright didn't go to college because of a hockey accident that knocked out his front teeth. Or that Orville Wright almost died from typhoid after drinking contaminated water at his printing business. Or maybe you didn't even know that Orv and Wil even HAD a printing business. Or that Orv built his first printing press from parts that included a piece of their younger sister's baby buggy.


I know all these things because of Darcy's very first obsession, her eight-month love affair with the Wright Brothers.


Now, Darcy is obsessed with all things ocean, but most particularly with sharks:

So, just like with the Wright Brothers, I've been learning a lot about sharks. I thought I'd share some of the highlights. The largest shark is, of course, the beautiful whale shark, one of a few filter-feeding sharks. The smallest is the dwarf shark. 


One of my favorite (?) new-to-me sharks is the cookie cutter shark. We kept seeing it listed when authors were talking about sharks named after special features. What kind of feature could lead to the cookie cutter moniker? It required some Google research. It turns out that the cookie cutter shark eats "cookies" of flesh that it cuts out of sea mammals and large fish. Here's its jaw, with many rows of bottom teeth just waiting their turn:

The cookie cutter is small -- only a couple feet long -- but it has suction-y lips that hold onto the victim while the shark twists itself around like a drill, neatly cutting out a perfect circle of said victim for its dining pleasure:

It's unclear to me if these are generally fatal. I've seen some pictures of large (seal, dolphin) critters with healed-over cookie cutter bites. It's a bit gruesome, but also extremely fascinating that such a creature exists. Those teeth are just crazy.


I'm also fond of the wobbegong shark, partly just because the name is cute. The shark is also cute and sometimes called a carpet shark. They are bottom dwellers who blend in with the sea floor due to their flatness, coloring, and fringe around the front:

Darcy is sitting next to me as I write this and I asked her what picture she would like you all to see. We've been very impressed by the "flying" great white sharks, mostly off the coast of South Africa. They breach, flip, and fly through the air when trying to catch poor, unsuspecting sea lions. Here's an example, although watching video of them is much more impressive than a still image:

And there you are: a Memorial Day Weekend lesson in the joys of shark obsessions. Hope you enjoyed this shark moment! We try very hard to continue to enjoy our shark months and months. We're running out of shark books at the library, but I don't think that gets us off the hook any time soon.