The Collection: Shirt 5/11

This is a newer one of my shark shirts that I got in San Francisco while visiting my bro. Funny thing was, this store also had a lot of really awesome cat shirts. I must return soon. 

Daily Shark Fact: Sharks SAVE people, so we should probably do the same for them. I was forwarded this article (by multiple people actually) about a man lost at sea who credits his rescue to a shark. Awesome.  Check it out here.

I went to goodwill today to do some shark shirt hunting, no luck. Obviously no one would ever want to give away a good shark shirt. The search continues, help me out! 

The Collection: Shirt 4/11

"I'd rather be a shark"

Daily Shark Fact: Sharks are social learners just like us! A new study by Dr. Tristan Guttridge is "the first to demonstrate social learning in any cartilaginous fish." Basically he taught some sharks a task (yup, sharks do tricks!) then he put noob sharks in with either other noobs, or with the sharks that had already learned how to do the trick. Guess what- the noob sharks paired with the expert sharks learned faster than those paired with another noob. Props Dr. Guttridge, I envy your shark-studying life.

Check out the full article here. Also props to my bro for being the one to send me this cool article! 

The Collection: Shirt 3/11

Since it is a wonderful American holiday, I decided to show you my patriotic shark shirt and shorts combo. 

Daily Shark Fact:

Sharks have special organs called "ampullae of Lorenzini" that give them a sixth sense called "electroreception," which allows them to sense the electrical field emitted by other living creatures. These organs are jelly-filled pores located on the bottom of the sharks nose. 

The Collection: Shirt 2/11

Naturally since it was Badger Game Day, I had to post my red and white "JAWSOME" shirt!

Daily Shark Fact:

Some sharks are known to be "viviparous", which means they give birth to live young.  Bull sharks, Whitetip reef sharks, Lemon, Blue, Mako, and Hammerheads all give birth to between 2 and 20 pups per litter. 

The Collection: Shirt 1/11

I thought it was appropriate to have my first shirt be the "I Have Feelings Too" shark shirt! 

Daily Shark Fact:

Annually,  sharks kill only 5 people while people kill almost 100 MILLION sharks just for their fins (and that doesn't include all of the other sharks killed by people for other reasons).

Save Our Seas

Lets talk a little bit about why people kill sharks JUST for their fins. In China, shark fin soup is a sign of wealth and prestige so people tons of money for shark fins. Shark fins have no nutritional value and are used only for texture. These fins are often acquired by a practice known as "finning," where fishermen cut off the fins of live sharks then throw the still living bodies back into the ocean for the sharks to either suffocate or be eaten.  I don't know about you, but that sounds a little inhumane to me. Some people are all like "meow, meow, meow.... shark fin soup is part of culture and tradition" but I think thats a pretty weak argument given all the other terrible traditions humans have had in the past that we now realize are outrageous. 

Click here for Wikipedia on Finning

The next issue is WHY do we care if people kill 100's of millions of sharks all the time? Well, if they go extinct we are screwed. Check out the following links on the impact of sharks on the ecosystem. 

What Would Happen If Sharks Disappeared?

I'm still looking for 354 shirts to help me find them and send them my way!!!!!!!! 

The Response

I have received an overwhelming response to my Facebook posts about my daily shark shirt idea! I was pretty sure everyone was just going to think I was nuts and crazy (which I am), but in addition people seem genuinely interested in following my idea, and reading my posts.  Thanks for all the support, and all of the ideas on how I can get my hands on a ridiculous number of shark shirts!

For all who are interested in searching for shark shirts for me, I am a very tiny human being. I wear an adult small or extra small, I for sure can fit into larger child sizes, and I would remake any larger shirt to fit me! If you're at a garage sale, or thrift store please keep a look out!

I got out all of my shark shirts and now know that I own 11 in total, so I only need 354 more.... yeah, only.... My current plan is to post a post a picture of each shirt I already have along with some interesting facts about sharks.

The Idea

Today I had a silly idea that I should get 365 shark shirts, wear one every day for a year, and have a blog about it.

Now in case anyone doesn't know this already, I have a crazy "like-a-kid-on-christmas" obsession with sharks. This affliction began on my freshman year spring break (2007) when I went fishing in Marathon Key, Florida with my mom (Mrs. Pip), dad (Captain Pip), and Kate McAnulty (Kitty Kat). We decided we wanted to catch some sharks to be badass, and since that day I have been out of my mind obsessed with any and all kinds of sharks.

Some people might be wondering why I would want to do this. Here are some simple answers:
1. Because it's awesome.
2. Because I want to get attention in order to educate people on what sharks are really like (they aren't scary you dummies) and to raise awareness to stop finning (Dear Asia, would you like it if I cut off all your limbs and tossed you back into the ocean? Doubt it. So stop)

The hard part is going to be how. Where am I going to get 365 shark shirts? Mostly, how am I going to afford to buy 365 shirts?

If anyone has any ideas on how to help me achieve my newest life goal please comment.  Everyone keep their eyes out for shark shirts and send them my way! If anyone has a company they want to promote, put a shark and the company on it and I'll wear it!

Next task is to count up how many shark shirts I already own.