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hangingfire ([info]hangingfire) wrote in [info]otf_wank,
@ 2007-01-25 17:11:00


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Shark Wank
The NYT newsblog The Lede has a piece about the frilled shark caught off the coast of Japan, plus a video link.

The exceptional coolness and strangeness of the beastie, however, does not stop people in the comments from quickly going to town with the fappery. In fact, the fun starts with the second comment:
Given the Japanese fishing industry’s habit of dredging everything up off the sea bottom and destroying entire habitats’ populations, I don’t think I’m surprised that they’re dragging up deep-water squid, and now, this shark. I doubt that these are the first, or will be the last, examples.
And they're off!

There's Japan-bashing, impugning of the researchers who captured the shark, poorly informed opinions, a reference to "shark-hugging hippies", jokes about sushi, jokes about the shark's resemblance to family members, more Japan-bashing, arguments over whether it's a shark or an eel, and more, over the course of some 120+ comments.

And if you're looking for the funny, you can do well with David at comment #116.

ETA: My new favorite comment: Hi. I’m not dead. — Posted by Eel Shark

It's not until #168 that someone finally makes a Steve Zissou joke. The thread is still chugging along, still with more Japan-bashing, and some solid (if a bit tl;dr-ish) comments enjoining the readers to, you know, get all the facts before spouting off. Not that it stops anyone from continuing to spout off about the rape of the oceans and who's got the worst ecological record, etc. Good times.


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[info]spawn_of_kong
2007-01-26 02:46 am UTC (link)
I think it looks like an eel.. wonder what exactly defines what makes something a shark anyway.. anyone know?

Put briefly, sharks are a family of fish whose skeletons are made of cartilage instead of bone (other cartiliginous fish families include rays and skates). They have no swim bladders, so most, if not all, species have to keep moving forward to keep water going over their gills. Also, their frontmost (pectoral) fins are designed in a way that prevents them from swimming backward.
Eels, on the other hand, fall under the category of bony fishes.

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[info]isntitironic
2007-01-26 02:58 am UTC (link)
Seeing that next to your icon, I pictured King Kong in a tiny mortarboard hat using a rod to point out shark facts written on a blackboard, while Miss Darrow watches with a WTF expression.

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[info]puipui
2007-01-26 03:31 am UTC (link)
Thank you so much for giving me that mental image. I ♥ U.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]miraba
2007-01-26 08:06 pm UTC (link)
Are you a bio major enrolled in a marine course?
Me, avoiding icky sea creatures, would have gone with the "cartilage vs. bone" answer and called it a day.

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