ALBACORA 99 



Blindfold a man, convince him that you are going to 

 burn through his palm with a blowtorch, and then drop 

 a piece of ice into his hand. The man will scream. Does 

 the screaming man really feel pain? Do hooked fish 

 really feel pain? I have never heard a completely satis- 

 factory answer to either question. 



But I suppose part of the wonder of science lies in 

 its unending number of unanswerable questions. For 

 example, there is the venerable question of the ferocity 

 of sharks. In every deep-sea motion picture, sharks play 

 the role of villains, lunging viciously for the heroine's 

 pure white ankle just as the hero, knife poised, swims 

 into view. But knowing the liberties Hollywood takes 

 with fish, not to mention those it takes with pure white 

 ankles, I wondered how many species of shark would 

 really attempt to devour a man. Some old fishermen 

 claim they have seen it happen; others say that sharks, 

 unless driven to fury, are perfectly harmless. After 

 checking with a number of scientists, I learned that both 

 answers are correct. Certain types of sharks are man- 

 eaters ; many other types are not. There are just about as 

 many kinds of sharks as there are kinds of dogs. Whale 

 sharks, one of the largest varieties, weigh tons but are 

 no more dangerous than tadpoles. They live exclusively 

 on plankton which they sieve from the water into their 

 digestive systems. Then there are other varieties of 

 sharks, such as the fearsome mako shark with his many 

 rows of pointed teeth, which seem willing to eat anything 



