Platform gives way, aquarium tourists dumped into shark tank.
August 8, 2002 3:32 PM   Subscribe

Platform gives way, aquarium tourists dumped into shark tank. I don't know about any of you, but my pants would've been full before I hit water.
posted by Ty Webb (34 comments total)
 
There were no serious injuries reported, but two people were taken to Tulane University Hospital for minor cuts and bruises they sustained after hitting artificial barnacles as they fell, aquarium spokeswoman Melissa Lee said.

Artificial Barnacles, Terror of the Seas...
posted by zekinskia at 3:38 PM on August 8, 2002


Good thing this wasn't a drunken Christmas party: "Staffers at the aquarium are trained to deal with emergencies like this one, but unfortunatly in their drunken vomitus state they were unable to help and fell in themselves and were devoured by the sharks they were considering sending to a Texas roadside attraction."
posted by Mack Twain at 3:53 PM on August 8, 2002


"B is for Barnacle, a simple sessile organism created by the Catholic Church is 1683. The original goal was to create a self-healing plating to protect ship hulls, and thus help Catholicism out-spread other religions across the world. Unfortunately, the organism grew randomly, forming a rough lumps that slow ships down. Even more unfortunately, genetic controls failed to work and barnacles spread uncontrollably across all the world's seas, infesting ships everywhere. Widely regarded as a warning against genetic tampering, barnacles were the major impetus for the Tunguska Genetic Engineering Treaty of 1919."

- Alphabetical Cyberia, by sigwinch, Kuro5hin
posted by ODiV at 3:59 PM on August 8, 2002


So they stepped out for a bite.....

(ducking)
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:21 PM on August 8, 2002


OK, the pants thing? That's an image I didn't need.
posted by GaelFC at 4:28 PM on August 8, 2002


I love that the sharks cowered in the corners of the tank!
posted by arielmeadow at 4:30 PM on August 8, 2002


Staffers at the aquarium are trained to deal with emergencies like this one

Why? It was a pretty bizzare set of conditions normally you wouldnt find 10 visitors diveing into the shark tank.
posted by stbalbach at 4:34 PM on August 8, 2002


I'm sure there's an animal rights website somewhere reporting that some peaceful sharks were accosted by a gang of rude, poorly dressed tourists.
posted by Ty Webb at 4:39 PM on August 8, 2002


After reading the article, I'd have to say that the grammar sucked. That and what kind of a quote is this?

"I've been told they took off and went to the other side of the exhibit," she said.
posted by ODiV at 5:14 PM on August 8, 2002


And to think you can pay to swim in the Camden Aquarium in the big tank (which I plan to do this year). I just hope there are no blobs in there.
posted by adampsyche at 5:31 PM on August 8, 2002


I don't know about any of you, but my pants would've been full before I hit water.

Hey, that's how they smell fear..
posted by slipperywhenwet at 5:33 PM on August 8, 2002


were devoured by the sharks they were considering sending to a Texas roadside attraction.
ROFL mack!
posted by amberglow at 5:44 PM on August 8, 2002


This could have been a disaster if the incident happened around the sharks' feeding time.
posted by RGarraud at 5:58 PM on August 8, 2002


Why? It was a pretty bizarre set of conditions. Normally you wouldn't find 10 visitors diving into the shark tank.

I disagree. If you have a shark tank that tourists will be visiting, one of the first safety precautions to take would be a plan of action in case someone falls in.
posted by jaden at 6:09 PM on August 8, 2002


This is as close as I ever want to get!!
posted by buz46 at 6:24 PM on August 8, 2002


It's a good thing that last year's shark attack epidemic ended when Robert Blake's wife got killed.
posted by PrinceValium at 6:40 PM on August 8, 2002


This could have been a disaster if the incident happened around the sharks' feeding time.

Animals in captivity don't behave the same as animals in the wild. It's not clear what would have happened if the people had fallen in at feeding time.

Still, I'd rather fall in after the sharks ate. Also (note to self): go visit the bathroom in the lobby before you walk out on a metal bridge that goes over the shark pool.
posted by crunchburger at 6:43 PM on August 8, 2002


ODiV, you ever been to South Louisiana?
posted by mblandi at 6:44 PM on August 8, 2002


In a previous part of my life, I worked at a public aquarium and the greatest danger to these people certainly weren't the sharks.

You see, since sharks are usually in tanks with other fish, you need to keep them pretty well overfed to minimize the chance of predation. At our aquarium, the sharks were fed by hand at least once a day, far more often than they would be in the wild. Also, it's not so often that the really dangerous sharks are on display.

Side note. Want to know at a glance how fast a shark is able to swim? Look at the second dorsal fin (the fin on top right in front of the tail). The smaller the fin, the faster they go. The larger it is, the slower they generally go. However, don't think for a moment that you can outswim the slowest shark (of course they're not the one that usually attack people, which is a pretty rare event, anyway).
posted by warhol at 6:47 PM on August 8, 2002


mblandi: Um... yes. I don't really see what you're getting at though.

What does being to South Louisiana have to do with barnacles, bad grammar, and/or getting a quote from someone who heard someone else say something.
posted by ODiV at 6:52 PM on August 8, 2002


There is nothing wrong grammatically with the quoted sentence.
posted by crunchburger at 7:03 PM on August 8, 2002


Christ I'm sorry - let's not hijack this into the grammar thread.
posted by crunchburger at 7:05 PM on August 8, 2002


I'm sure there's an animal rights website somewhere reporting that some peaceful sharks were accosted by a gang of rude, poorly dressed tourists.

Nah. We're all reporting that sharks continue to be captured for the amusement of rude, poorly dressed tourists.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 7:06 PM on August 8, 2002


Well, the bad grammar is typical of South Louisiana, and locals love reveling in local color, so NOLA will use direct quotes even if it is "I was just praying none of the sharks got agitated from all of the splashing and everything. I mean, they got sharks in there bigger than me"; he said. That's the flavor part.

Plus, about the hearsay, it's a funny shark story not Watergate. Seems like a typical New Orleans 'living' article to me. That's why I asked if you had been to South Louisiana. Sheesh. [end hijack]
posted by mblandi at 7:10 PM on August 8, 2002


Why? It was a pretty bizzare set of conditions normally you wouldnt find 10 visitors diveing into the shark tank.

As someone else mentioned, they are trained for sitautions where someone falls in, not ten people. However, there is no difference in the way they would handle the situation.

The funny part (sort of) is that my mom is a volunteer diver at the Aquarium of the Americas and dives in that very tank. I saw the headline on CNN, and just clicked out of natural curiosity. As the page loaded I said, now wouldn't that be a hoot if it were her work?

And lo and behold, my jaw hit the floor. She still hasn't responded, so I don't know how it all shook out. I'll see what I can find out...
posted by fooljay at 7:10 PM on August 8, 2002


Well, the bad grammar is typical of South Louisiana

Yuse got it man we no speaka good inglish in da south.

Please.
posted by justgary at 10:19 PM on August 8, 2002


Platform gives way...dumped into shark tank....

Sounds like a typical WindowsXP experience.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:32 PM on August 8, 2002


Somehow, I have this nagging feeling that Blofeld was involved.
posted by dhartung at 11:39 PM on August 8, 2002


There's nothing quite so poignant as imagining 10 people dumped into a shark tank. The immediacy. The danger. The moment of surreal confusion and fear. The collective racing of hearts. The reality after one is dry and looks back on it. The eventual embellishment and less clarity of the memory. What it is to be. Experienced in a flash.

Talked about on MeFi.

Ahh, what it must be to be a shark.
posted by crasspastor at 12:18 AM on August 9, 2002


mblandi...where y'at? you're right, cousin. you must have lived/still live in midcity or the marigny or something. forget about what everyone else says, they don't know what they're talkin' about. next time you go by the aquarium say hi, i take pictures at the cajun queen ;)
posted by sighofrelief at 12:33 AM on August 9, 2002


americans thrown into a shark tank? i've asked TIPS to investigate.
posted by quarsan at 4:02 AM on August 9, 2002


This response form my mom, who, as I mentioned above, works there in that very tank...

Pretty amazing, huh? I had just left. John and I had dove to clean. Too bad we missed the action. At least we could have helped from the water. The walkway has a capacity of 6000 pounds. No one knows why it collapsed. They had structural engineers there today. It's at the bottom of the exhibit like a sunken ship. Now they have to figure out how to pick it up. The sharks scattered and went to the other side of the tank. They didn't want to be anywhere around there.

So there you go. Apparently they're just like us. Except with sharper teeth.
posted by fooljay at 9:19 AM on August 9, 2002



posted by Fstop at 10:28 AM on August 9, 2002


I was wondering about the structural end of things, whether it was a bridge that should have withstood the weight, or an extendable walkway that was ... overextended. In retrospect, they may be lucky the accident didn't breach the tank in some way. They probably have other places for some of the animals, but all? As the water drains? This could have been much worse, human injury notwithstanding.
posted by dhartung at 1:12 PM on August 9, 2002


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