With Shark Week hitting the Discovery Channel early this year and recent shark attacks terrorizing the Carolinas, it’s no wonder you've got the theme from Jaws in your head at all times.
But if you’re feeling scared about dipping your freshly pedicured toes in the salty ocean, don’t be.
Here, seven reasons it really is OK to go in the water.
1. YOU HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF BEING KILLED BY A COW
When it comes to fatal shark run-ins, the odds are in your favor. Other circumstances more common than death by shark attack include being struck by lightning, swept up in a tornado or getting caught in a collapsing sand hole, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
2. SHARK BITES REALLY ARE RARE
Before you spend your beach day in a total panic, repeat this stat: You have a one in 11.5 million chance of being attacked.
3. SHARKS ARE MEAT-EATERS, NOT MAN-EATERS
When it comes to sharks’ eating habits, humans simply aren’t on the menu. Instead, they prefer a diet of seals, sea lions and smaller whales. Humans are land-based (a foreign object in their eco-system), which means that most unprovoked attacks happen by mistake.
4. THE "ROGUE" SHARK IS A MYTH
As defined by Jaws, rogue sharks are ones that get a taste for human flesh… and then set out on a mission to kill, kill, kill. While this concept is probably rooted in fact (in 1916, the same great white allegedly killed five people along the Jersey Shore), the chances of a repeat attack from one hungry, killer shark isn’t remotely likely, researchers say.
5. IT’S NOT LIKE YOU’RE GOING SWIMMING IN NEW SMYRNA
Take solace in the fact that you're not going to this Florida town, where researchers estimate swimmers typically come within ten feet of a shark on any given day.
6. VERY FEW SHARKS POSE A REAL THREAT
Of the more than 400 species that exist, only three (the white, tiger and bull) are considered a danger to humans.
7. THEY’RE MORE AFRAID OF US THAN WE ARE OF THEM
Truth: The United Nations estimates that almost 10 million sharks are killed for their fins each year. Help put a stop to this now.
