9 Times Sharks Were The Good Guys

Look, sharks get a bad rap, but they sure do show a lot of restraint when it comes to one species in particular. Us. Well, you. Humans. Whether we're hunting them, or turning them into tourist bait, we seem determined to piss them off at every turn, and yet, they more often than not just take it.

That's how something called "shark riding" has become a trend in recent years, in large part due to a culture that would rather get the selfie than live to post it. What started out as conservationists trying to show that sharks were more than simply monsters of the deep has morphed into a money shot for thrill-seeking tourists.

The idea behind shark riding is fairly simple. A diver swims close enough to a shark to grab onto its dorsal fin, and then away these new friends go.

But the conservationists never expected these waterlogged bros to take things quite so far. For instance, a viral video from 2013 showed a diver in Bora Bora not only riding a shark, but giving it a giant bear hug. Judging by the responses on Facebook, which, according to Slate, called the guy everything from an idiot, to crazy, to deplorable, to dumb, there may still be some hope for mankind. Thanks anyway, sharks, for putting up with our crap.

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