Word of the Day: pelagic

I’ve been feeling a post fairy tale let down. I hope you don’t feel let down. I should stop typing “let down.”

If you are so inclined, You can now become a fan of the Word of the Day on Facebook. It’s simple, and free, and sorta weird since some of you get this by e-mail, and seeing it on Facebook might be overkill. Well, you can just gloss over this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Word-of-the-Day/110889435603886. Pretend it’s a banner ad.

Today’s story was inspired by something I saw on Facebook where someone made a comment about “Dancing with the Stars.”

Today’s Word:

pelagic

As in:

The Discovery Channel, in anticipation of its next “Shark Week,” has decided to add a competition reality show to its roster of shark-related television specials.  Modeled after the hit “Dancing with the Stars,” “Dancing with the Sharks” will be debuting this summer.

Sharks are paired with skilled swimmers, whose job it is to teach various species of the cartilaginous fish underwater ballroom dancing. Each week, one of the swimmers is eliminated from the competition, which is not always a result of receiving the lowest number of votes, in the case of the swimmer who was partnered with a great white shark in week three.

To keep the competitors on their toes, (so to speak), and to assure that the biting is spread evenly between the humans, the partners switch between the species each week. Since the accident in week three, there have not been any serious injuries.

The specifics of the elimination and the injuries have not been released, as it would be considered a “spoiler,” for a competition that hasn’t yet been on the air.  As the competitor did not actually die, the producers felt it was not inappropriate to continue with the show’s debut.  They’ve even started to toy with the idea of advertising the show as, “less dangerous than the killer whale show at Sea World.”

The larger sharks have not taken well to the training, and tend to become aggressive when frustrated, which was not especially surprising to the show’s producers, who were hoping for an element of danger in the show. The producers got more than they bargained for, as it seems that the rigors of underwater dance training have proven to be especially irritating to the sharks.

While the dancer’s costumes are woven of bite-resistant mesh, occasionally, a difficult dance move is executed, putting an unprotected part in the way of a sharp tooth, which can lead to a follow-up frenzy, and the requisite shark wrangling.

Given the show’s pelagic setting, the traditional “live studio audience” has not been possible. Producers are considering moving the competition to various aquariums around the country. This is expected to reduce the production costs and bring attention to the nation’s “watery zoos,” which can aid in conservation efforts, and bring attention to the plight of sharks all over the world.

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Apparently, I’ve moved from zombies to various types of dancing fauna. That can’t be good, can it?

pelagic / peh – LAJ – ic / living in open oceans or seas; oceanic