The Sixth Wall is a pop culture entertainment magazine. Leveraging pop culture topics, which are largely universally enjoyed by people across planet Earth, The Sixth Wall entertains its readers with short, fun stories that are informative, if not downright educational at times.
According to the theory of evolution, man came from the sea. And ever since then, the sea has been doing everything it can to keep him from coming back. Our fleshy, air-breathing bodies have adapted to land in a way that makes us ill equipped for sea exploration and even less capable of fending off the animals that reside in it. In short, we don’t have much of a chance of surviving in a post-global warming water world. What’s more, we don’t truly know the scope of the dangerous living things that reside in the deepest waters of the ocean.
Sure, after viewing Another Shade of Blue, a picturesque travelogue series that explores the flora, fauna, animal life, indigenous cultures, and colorful histories of several sandy locales, the sea looks inviting and domesticated. But never forget that as pretty as it all may be, there’s always going to be horrible sea creatures lying below the surface of those crystal caps waiting to tear us limb from limb… or at least give us a bad rash.
Another Shade of Blue – The Big Island
Stonefish
The scariest villains are the ones that lie in wait, using their powers of perception to trick you into doing all the work for them. The stonefish may not be as diabolical as Hannibal Lecter but it’s just as scary. It resides on the ocean floor – and sometimes in river beds – waiting for its prey to pass by, then leaps out of its camouflage with a stinger full of venom. The sting of the stonefish is capable of causing excruciating pain in anyone unlucky enough to get stung, often permanently killing the tissue around the wound.
Great White Shark
Jaws. If that film wasn’t enough to convince you that the great white shark is something you don’t want to mess with, we don’t know what else to add to the debate. It’s a giant shark… with a giant mouth… full of rows of razor-sharp teeth. They grow as long as six meters, which makes it by far the largest predator on this list. The great news is that Great Whites don’t seek out humans. The bad news is they can’t tell the difference between their usual prey and us – or even a buoy. The fact that they’re just wandering the ocean biting random things makes them all the more terrifying.
The noble lionfish has an enormous mane, like its namesake. The only difference is the lionfish’s mane is made of tentacles that can destroy you if you try to grab him. They were accidentally brought to the Atlantic from the local Indo-Pacific waters, and they’re all over the place now. They stick to the reefs, so as long as you don’t stick your hands where you shouldn’t, you should be safe. Unless, of course, you run into the dreaded…
Sea Snake
How does a sea snake differ from an eel, you ask? Good question. Well, for one, the sea snake eats eels for lunch. That’s right. These carnivorous sea serpents are far more dangerous than their slithery distant relatives, with fangs packed full of venom and the temperament to do something with them. Most sea snakes won’t attack unless they’re threatened, but others have been known to sink their teeth into a local fisherman or two. Interestingly enough, sea snakes evolved from their terrestrial cousins, not the other way around. Which means a long time ago a snake fell into the water and dug it so much he decided to stay there forever.
Fire Coral
Fire coral is named so because your skin registers something similar to fire when touching it. It’s a bad time made even worse when you factor in that you don’t know you’ve touched it until it’s too late – fire coral looks just like regular coral. It’s the poison oak of the ocean. The fire coral pretends to be the most innocuous of all life forms – save for the sea sponge and garden snail – but don’t be fooled by its colorful exterior. Fire coral is a close relative of the jellyfish and uses the same stinging tactics to stun and consume its prey.
Tiger Shark
There exists a shark out there with the stripes of a tiger, four meters long, which swims in waters just close enough to shore to feast on innocent swimmers. It is one of the deadliest sharks – second only to the Great White. As a predator who likes to hunt in warm, shallow waters at night, the Tiger Shark is definitely something to be feared when vacationing in warm destinations like Mexico, Hawaii, and Australia.
Box Jellyfish
Many believe this northern Australian beauty is the most venomous creature on earth. It also happens to be one of the biggest in the jellyfish family, filling up a soccer ball-sized portion of ocean with gooey jelly plus 60 tentacles (3 meters long) of pure deadliness. Also referred to as the “sea wasp” or the “marine stinger,” the Box Jellyfish can take out a healthy adult in under 4 minutes. And don’t even bother packing an antidote into your wetsuit – it doesn’t exist.
Stingray
The stingray isn’t all that dangerous, but it does have a giant barb on the end of its tail. So even if it was the nicest creature on the planet, providing boxes of free krill to all the other creatures of the aquatic kingdom, we’d still have to put it on this list. Especially since it was a stingray that killed famed animal expert Steve Irwin, the guy survived attacks from far meaner creatures. The truth is, stingrays only attack in defense. So most stingray attacks happen when people accidentally step on them. Considering they like to hide under a light coat of sand, this is not so uncommon. When entering unknown waters, stay safe and do the stingray shuffle.
Blue Ringed Octopus
This little eight-legged octo-cutie may be tiny but don’t let its size fool you. It packs a punch – and by punch we mean horribly dangerous chemicals. Its venom has been known to cause paralysis (and eventually death) in animals ten times its size, which no doubt comes in handy when avoiding gulls in the tide pools of Japan. Luckily for us, there are ways to know when a blue-ringed octopus is going to strike. Like other octopi, it is able to change color and pattern at will. Of course, that fact doesn’t come in handy unless you know how to read it like a mood ring.
Tom Chandler was born and raised in a small town outside Seattle. He’s currently writing a screenplay about two robots striving to reform the American educational system.
Referencing Jaws for the deadliness of Sharks is kinda lame. They really don’t pose a large threat and thousands of them are killed every year. We need them to keep ecosystems in check. Stop perpetuating the myth!
Finding the appropriate person to teach the rich and spoiled Leon Wong manners and proper social behavior is not as easy as it seems. Have a peek at some of the colorful competition that Mr. French beat out for the lucrative job!
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Deadly Sea Creatures and Their Devious Ways2
By Thomas Chandler, Aug 30, 2011 in Offbeat
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According to the theory of evolution, man came from the sea. And ever since then, the sea has been doing everything it can to keep him from coming back. Our fleshy, air-breathing bodies have adapted to land in a way that makes us ill equipped for sea exploration and even less capable of fending off the animals that reside in it. In short, we don’t have much of a chance of surviving in a post-global warming water world. What’s more, we don’t truly know the scope of the dangerous living things that reside in the deepest waters of the ocean.
Sure, after viewing Another Shade of Blue, a picturesque travelogue series that explores the flora, fauna, animal life, indigenous cultures, and colorful histories of several sandy locales, the sea looks inviting and domesticated. But never forget that as pretty as it all may be, there’s always going to be horrible sea creatures lying below the surface of those crystal caps waiting to tear us limb from limb… or at least give us a bad rash.
Another Shade of Blue – The Big Island
Stonefish
The scariest villains are the ones that lie in wait, using their powers of perception to trick you into doing all the work for them. The stonefish may not be as diabolical as Hannibal Lecter but it’s just as scary. It resides on the ocean floor – and sometimes in river beds – waiting for its prey to pass by, then leaps out of its camouflage with a stinger full of venom. The sting of the stonefish is capable of causing excruciating pain in anyone unlucky enough to get stung, often permanently killing the tissue around the wound.
Great White Shark
Jaws. If that film wasn’t enough to convince you that the great white shark is something you don’t want to mess with, we don’t know what else to add to the debate. It’s a giant shark… with a giant mouth… full of rows of razor-sharp teeth. They grow as long as six meters, which makes it by far the largest predator on this list. The great news is that Great Whites don’t seek out humans. The bad news is they can’t tell the difference between their usual prey and us – or even a buoy. The fact that they’re just wandering the ocean biting random things makes them all the more terrifying.
READ: 8 Movies You Don’t Want to See Before Heading to the Beach
Lionfish
The noble lionfish has an enormous mane, like its namesake. The only difference is the lionfish’s mane is made of tentacles that can destroy you if you try to grab him. They were accidentally brought to the Atlantic from the local Indo-Pacific waters, and they’re all over the place now. They stick to the reefs, so as long as you don’t stick your hands where you shouldn’t, you should be safe. Unless, of course, you run into the dreaded…
Sea Snake
How does a sea snake differ from an eel, you ask? Good question. Well, for one, the sea snake eats eels for lunch. That’s right. These carnivorous sea serpents are far more dangerous than their slithery distant relatives, with fangs packed full of venom and the temperament to do something with them. Most sea snakes won’t attack unless they’re threatened, but others have been known to sink their teeth into a local fisherman or two. Interestingly enough, sea snakes evolved from their terrestrial cousins, not the other way around. Which means a long time ago a snake fell into the water and dug it so much he decided to stay there forever.
Fire Coral
Fire coral is named so because your skin registers something similar to fire when touching it. It’s a bad time made even worse when you factor in that you don’t know you’ve touched it until it’s too late – fire coral looks just like regular coral. It’s the poison oak of the ocean. The fire coral pretends to be the most innocuous of all life forms – save for the sea sponge and garden snail – but don’t be fooled by its colorful exterior. Fire coral is a close relative of the jellyfish and uses the same stinging tactics to stun and consume its prey.
Tiger Shark
There exists a shark out there with the stripes of a tiger, four meters long, which swims in waters just close enough to shore to feast on innocent swimmers. It is one of the deadliest sharks – second only to the Great White. As a predator who likes to hunt in warm, shallow waters at night, the Tiger Shark is definitely something to be feared when vacationing in warm destinations like Mexico, Hawaii, and Australia.
Box Jellyfish
Many believe this northern Australian beauty is the most venomous creature on earth. It also happens to be one of the biggest in the jellyfish family, filling up a soccer ball-sized portion of ocean with gooey jelly plus 60 tentacles (3 meters long) of pure deadliness. Also referred to as the “sea wasp” or the “marine stinger,” the Box Jellyfish can take out a healthy adult in under 4 minutes. And don’t even bother packing an antidote into your wetsuit – it doesn’t exist.
Stingray
The stingray isn’t all that dangerous, but it does have a giant barb on the end of its tail. So even if it was the nicest creature on the planet, providing boxes of free krill to all the other creatures of the aquatic kingdom, we’d still have to put it on this list. Especially since it was a stingray that killed famed animal expert Steve Irwin, the guy survived attacks from far meaner creatures. The truth is, stingrays only attack in defense. So most stingray attacks happen when people accidentally step on them. Considering they like to hide under a light coat of sand, this is not so uncommon. When entering unknown waters, stay safe and do the stingray shuffle.
Blue Ringed Octopus
This little eight-legged octo-cutie may be tiny but don’t let its size fool you. It packs a punch – and by punch we mean horribly dangerous chemicals. Its venom has been known to cause paralysis (and eventually death) in animals ten times its size, which no doubt comes in handy when avoiding gulls in the tide pools of Japan. Luckily for us, there are ways to know when a blue-ringed octopus is going to strike. Like other octopi, it is able to change color and pattern at will. Of course, that fact doesn’t come in handy unless you know how to read it like a mood ring.
Another Shade of Blue – The Florida Keys
Another Shade of Blue – Tahiti and Moorea
Watch more episodes of traveling adventure series ANOTHER SHADE OF BLUE
Tom Chandler was born and raised in a small town outside Seattle. He’s currently writing a screenplay about two robots striving to reform the American educational system.