Wow this is a big day for The Mugly Truth Podcast! Not only do we have a HUGE topic (like everyone else in the world) discussing SHARK WEEK, we are also so excited this is our 100th episode! It’s been a tiny bit of a struggle to get here, as we’ve had some down times over the past year. We want to thank all our listeners who are the reason we keep getting back behind the mic, talking about topics that interest us and ultimately entertain you (hopefully)! So yeah, today we’re talking about sharks, Shark Week on Discovery Channel, and for the win, we’re also bringing seahorses into the fold because SEAHORSES! Trust, you’ll learn some surprising things about those sweet little critters.
We hope you enjoy listening to the episode today as we had a lot of fun recording it. If you’re not a long-time listener, or just happened onto this blog and don’t know what’s going on, this blog is a companion piece to our podcast The Mugly Truth. Our episodes air every Tuesday, and each episode is paired up with a blog post where listeners can follow up on links we discuss in the episode. It’s also where we make corrections, provide additional information, and answer questions we had in the episode.
So let’s get down to business:
- Cable Rivalry of Titanic Proportions! Kym brought up seeing some shark shows prior to the official 9 August start of Shark Week , and wondered if it might have been National Geographic airing those shows. Yep, it sure was. National Geographic got a jump on the shark footage frenzy with their version of shark week they call SharkFest – but just to make it a serious tussle, they started their FIVE week series July 19! If you don’t have cable, you can, of course, stream on an independent subscription, but you’re out of luck with Disney Plus because it’s not on their Nat Geo hub offerings. For more information on this ginormous rivalry, this article is an interesting read.
- You Know, THAT Guy With THAT Voice. When Kym said Adam DeVine was a Shark Week host, Kris thought she was talking about Andy Devine and was quite perplexed because he died almost 20 years before Shark Week debuted. If you don’t recognize the name or face, you’d for sure recognize the famously raspy, sing-song voice. Andy was a much beloved character actor, famously side-kicking alongside heroic cowboys in many a western on the silver screen, radio, and television. One of his best late works was voicing Friar Tuck in the 1973 Disney animated movie Robin Hood. Andy was a local in our area (Orange County, CA) and his funeral in 1977 was attended by many notable actors, including Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.
- Is He or Isn’t He? Yes. 54 year old Mike Tyson (host of this year’s Shark Week) is coming out of retirement for an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr. in September. Apparently sparring with sharks wasn’t enough for tough Mr. Tyson.
- Let’s Get Ready To Rumble! Michael Buffer is the famous boxing (not wrestling, ladies) announcer who made “let’s get ready to rumble” a household sibling war-cry. He is also offering play-by-play on the Mike Tyson vs. shark episode.
- Clifftop Ruin. Marineland of the Pacific (we always just called it Marineland) was a huge attraction for over 30 years located in Palos Verdes, California. In fact, it opened a year before Disneyland! Then it shut down when new owners moved operations to their SeaWorld facility in San Diego which is still in business today. This article has some great photos of it being built as well as its recent state of decay.
Photo by Gary B. Edstrom, Wikipedia. License information here.
- Nighty-Night Sharky-Shark. Even though punching a shark in the snout is ineffective (Kym emphatically states you need to aim for the eye if you must fight off an attack), tonic immobility really is a thing. Just be sure to know which sharks it works on.
- What do Harry Potter and Shark Week Have in Common? Both Harry Potter and Shark Week concepts were captured on that iconic spontaneous thought gotta-write-it-down medium: the paper napkin. Whilst SW was scribbled down on a pub napkin, JK Rowling wrote HP notes on a napkin on a train.
- Dolphins – Too Many For YOU Mr. Shark! Yes sharks do prey on dolphins, usually the young, or adults who are sick, but dinner comes at a price. Lone-wolf sharks are usually outnumbered by the number of dolphins in a pod, who fight to defend their young and weak, so sharks have to work extra hard to get this particular prey.
- Those Plumey Thingies. Yeah, those multiple plumes on a Lionfish are spiney fins. And each one is venomous. Seriously, don’t mess with these deceptively lovely sea creatures. Oh, and, yes, the toxins can be cooked out of the spines, so eating Lionfish is not deadly when prepared correctly. Here is an article with more information.
- THIS MUST END. Sharkfin soup is a “delicacy” that is partly to blame for endangering the lives of sharks across the world. For more information about finning, please read this article from seasave.org.
- The Best Way the World Learns to Dive! If you’re interested in learning to scuba dive, we recommend a PADI professional/dive store as your go-to for the best, most comprehensive and safe practice learning anywhere. PADI is the leader in diving certifications worldwide, and levels up the game in their mission to protect and conserve oceans and marine life. PADI teaches divers of all levels scuba diving skills, but also how to become ambassadors for the aquatic world. PADI is currently offering a large variety of online courses so you can get your studies completed safely while COVID-19 restrictions are still in place. Once you’re done with your studies, you’ll be ready to meet your instructor for your in-water training! Whether you’re new to diving, need to brush up on your skills, or want to continue your diving education, PADI is the way to learn to dive, anywhere in the world.
- Still With the Words. Kris KNOWS it’s JuleS Verne who wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But apparently her mouth didn’t know there’s an S in there. Also, here’s what a real nautilus looks like. For the Verne “Nautilus,” you’ll have to Google artistic renditions of it, or watch the 1954 movie.
- Goes Right Through Ya! It seems as though seahorses don’t even mash their food up, as they swallow their food whole. And they don’t have stomachs. So it’s a bit of a dodgy thing, eating is. That explains why they eat so much so often! This article has a lot more information on the subject.
Photo by Nick Hobgood, Wikipedia Creative Commons. License information here.
- Would it BE The Mugly Truth if…(Said in Our Best Chandler Bing Voice)? What’s a Mugly Truth podcast without detouring to our favorite off-topics such as true crime, ghosts, and spiders. For the animated Lucas the Spider, check out the YouTube channel where Lucas adorably hangs out.
For links to the articles we reference specifically in the episode, please see the following:
- projectaware.org is a non-profit organization whose aim is ocean and marine life conservancy. Project AWARE strongly advocates for more protection of sharks and rays around the globe.
- CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
- sharktrust.org’s A-Z shark names pdf for kids can be downloaded here.
- World Wildlife Fund’s Shark Facts vs. Shark Myths article at worldwildlife.org
- mentalfloss.com’s article 9 Behind the Scenes Secrets of a Shark Week Cinematographer
- huffpost.com’s article 5 Facts You Didn’t Know About Sharks That Will Blow You Out of the Water
- For information on seahorses and how to protect them, please see seahorsetrust.org
- For information about that über-huge seahorse, see dailymail.uk’s article Did it eat too many seabiscuits? World’s biggest seahorse caught in fisherman’s net off south coast of England is THIRTEEN inches from snout to tail (the title is ironically large in keeping with the subject. Well done Daily Mail.)
Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Sharks and Seahorses” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or (almost) anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast!
Don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Please also follow Kym on Tiktok at kymtok.
© The Mugly Truth 2020 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2020. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox” by Espresso, Inc. through premiumbeats.com.
Featured photo Basking Shark courtesy NOAA, public domain.
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