Sharks: Glow, Teeth & Why They're Actually Shy

Nova: Buckle up, Explorers.

Cosmo: Brains in!

Nova: Wheels up!

Nova & Cosmo: Brain Bus, let's GO!

Nova: You're on The Brain Bus.

Nova: I'm Nova, your driver.

Nova: And today we are going somewhere amazing.

Nova: We are going into the ocean.

Nova: We are going to find... sharks.

Nova: And here is something wild.

Nova: Some sharks grow new teeth their whole life.

Nova: Like a tooth fountain!

Nova: One tooth falls out...

Nova: Pop! A new one is already there.

Nova: Let's go find the sharks.

Nova: Close your eyes for just a second.

Nova: Imagine a big, big ocean.

Nova: Blue everywhere.

Nova: It is very, very quiet.

Nova: And something is swimming.

Nova: Something with fins.

Nova: Something with lots and lots of teeth.

Nova: It's a shark.

Nova: Now... do you know what the shark does?

Nova: It sees you.

Nova: And it swims... away.

Nova: That's right.

Nova: Sharks are shy.

Nova: Most sharks don't want to meet people at all.

Nova: They would rather swim away and find their dinner.

Nova: And what do sharks eat for dinner?

Nova: Fish!

Nova: Little fish.

Nova: Sharks eat fish for dinner, just like we eat our dinner.

Nova: Can you say FISH?

Nova: Fish! Great job, Explorers.

Nova: Now.

Nova: Sharks have been swimming in this big ocean for a very, very long time.

Nova: Even before dinosaurs.

Nova: Before the dinosaurs walked around on land...

Nova: Sharks were already there.

Nova: Already swimming.

Nova: Already finding their fish dinner.

Nova: That is a very long time.

Nova: And here is something so cool.

Nova: Some sharks glow in the dark.

Nova: Way down deep in the ocean, it is very, very dark.

Nova: Like when all the lights go off at night.

Nova: But some sharks... they glow.

Nova: Like a little swimming nightlight.

Nova: Can you say GLOW?

Nova: Glow! Beautiful.

Nova: And some sharks are teeny, teeny tiny.

Nova: The dwarf lanternshark is so small...

Nova: It could fit right in your hand.

Nova: Can you hold out your hands?

Nova: A little shark, right there in your palms.

Nova: Tiny. And it glows too.

Nova: Amazing.

Nova: And then there is the biggest fish in the whole ocean.

Nova: The whale shark.

Nova: It is enormous.

Nova: But you know what it eats?

Nova: Teeny tiny food.

Nova: Itty bitty little bites.

Nova: It opens its giant mouth and slurps.

Nova: The whale shark has spots all over it.

Nova: And every whale shark has different spots.

Nova: Just like your fingerprints.

Nova: No two are the same.

Nova: Can you say WHALE SHARK?

Nova: Whale shark. You are so good at this.

Nova: Now.

Nova: Nova wants to tell you a story.

Nova: This story comes from the Fijian people.

Nova: The Fijian people live on beautiful islands.

Nova: The islands of Fiji, in the ocean.

Nova: Say it with me — Fee-jee.

Nova: Fiji.

Nova: The Fijian people have told this story for a long, long time.

Nova: Long ago, there was a great shark.

Nova: His name was Dakuwaqa.

Nova: Say it slowly with me — Dah-koo-WAHNG-gah.

Nova: Dakuwaqa.

Nova: He was big and strong.

Nova: He swam all around the islands of Fiji.

Nova: And he kept the people safe in the water.

Nova: One day, Dakuwaqa met an octopus.

Nova: This octopus was guarding an island.

Nova: Dakuwaqa thought he was the strongest in the sea.

Nova: But the octopus wrapped its arms around him.

Nova: And Dakuwaqa could not get free.

Nova: So Dakuwaqa made a promise.

Nova: He said: I will always keep the people of this island safe.

Nova: The octopus let him go.

Nova: And Dakuwaqa kept his promise.

Nova: Fijian fishers still know that Dakuwaqa watches over them in the water.

Nova: Even today.

Nova: In Fiji, the shark is not something scary.

Nova: The shark is something that keeps you safe.

Nova: Okay Explorers.

Nova: Quiz time!

Nova: Are you ready?

Nova: I am going to ask you some questions about sharks.

Nova: Think really hard.

Nova: You can shout the answer out loud!

Nova: Question one.

Nova: True or false.

Nova: Sharks have bones inside them.

Nova: True... or false?

Nova: False!

Nova: Sharks have NO bones at all.

Nova: Their whole body is made of bendy stuff.

Nova: Like the very tip of your nose.

Nova: Touch the tip of your nose.

Nova: That bendy stuff — that is what sharks are made of.

Nova: Bendy all over.

Nova: Question two.

Nova: True or false.

Nova: Some sharks glow in the dark.

Nova: True... or false?

Nova: TRUE!

Nova: Some sharks glow way down deep in the dark ocean.

Nova: Like a little swimming nightlight.

Nova: So cool.

Nova: Question three.

Nova: Do sharks grow LOTS of teeth in their life...

Nova: Or just a little?

Nova: Lots... or a little?

Nova: LOTS!

Nova: Thousands and thousands of teeth.

Nova: Every time one falls out, a new one pops right up.

Nova: A tooth fountain!

Nova: Explorers, you are wonderful thinkers.

Nova: Every single one of you.

Nova: The thinking you just did — that is what the Brain Bus runs on.

Nova: Now. Three more wow things about sharks.

Nova: Ready?

Nova: One.

Nova: Baby sharks are called pups.

Nova: Just like baby dogs.

Nova: Pups!

Nova: Two.

Nova: Shark skin feels rough and scratchy.

Nova: Like sandpaper.

Nova: Those rough little bumps help sharks swim super quietly and fast.

Nova: Three.

Nova: Sharks can feel tiny wiggles in the water.

Nova: They have special spots on their face.

Nova: Those spots feel the water moving.

Nova: Like little feelers.

Nova: Sharks know you are there before they even see you.

Nova: Okay Explorers. Time for a challenge.

Nova: Are you ready?

Nova: Close your eyes.

Nova: Pretend you are a shy little shark.

Nova: You are swimming in the big blue ocean.

Nova: Open your mouth... wide.

Nova: Now close it.

Nova: Open... close.

Nova: Open... close.

Nova: That is how sharks breathe.

Nova: Water goes in their mouth and right out the sides of their neck.

Nova: Now wiggle your fingers.

Nova: Those are little fish swimming past you.

Nova: Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

Nova: Good swimming, little shark.

Nova: Now here is a wondering question.

Nova: If YOU were a shark...

Nova: Would you want to glow in the dark?

Nova: Or be teeny tiny?

Nova: Or be big like a whale shark?

Nova: Hmm.

Nova: What a wonderful thing to wonder about.

Nova: Explorers.

Nova: Come in close for a moment.

Nova: Sharks are not scary monsters.

Nova: They are shy ocean animals.

Nova: They have their teeth.

Nova: They have their glow.

Nova: They have their bendy bodies.

Nova: All of those things help them swim...

Nova: And find their dinner.

Nova: That is all.

Nova: Just a shy animal...

Nova: With lots of cool tools.

Nova: Sharks have been swimming in the dark ocean for longer than dinosaurs ever walked the earth — and in all that time, they never needed to change, because they were already perfect.

Nova: Next time on the Brain Bus...

Nova: We are going somewhere with very, very long necks.

Nova: And very, very high treetops.

Nova: I wonder who we might find up there.

Nova: Hmm.

Nova: Stay curious, stay clever, and keep that brain working!

Nova: Until the next stop, Explorers...

Cosmo: ...keep wondering.