BOB THE SHARK: Kathi Peters and the strange case of Missouri's only shark attack
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Being a land-locked state, one wouldn't normally connect Missouri with shark attacks, but it does seem the state has at least one instance of it in history. The story came to light after Colorado Governor Jared Polis bragged about the state's spotless record when it comes to shark attacks. The Shark Attack File has preserved details of every documented shark attack in the world, and surprisingly, both Missouri and Illinois find a place in the list.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis shared a fun fact on Twitter, where he wrote, "Colorado is tied for state with the least shark attacks!" He was then contacted by The Denver Post on the peculiar info-graphic. His office issued the following statement, "With the lowest obesity rate in the country, Coloradans are known for being healthy and lean and sharks know they won't get much of a meal here. Coloradans and others from across the world love exploring our mountains, rivers, lakes and plains while safely avoiding the swarms of dangerous sharks in other, less attractive destinations like Texas, California, and Florida," as reported by Fox2now.
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Colorado is tied for state with the least shark attacks! 🦈 pic.twitter.com/mMI8HAZGra
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) October 12, 2021
Attack on Kathi Peters
Kathi Peters and her husband Marco were giving a performance at the 1996 St Louis Boat and Sports Show when the unthinkable happened. Peters accidentally stuck her hand in the bottom of a 9,000-gallon aquarium that contained six nurse sharks. The species is a slow-moving bottom dweller that, for the most part, poses no threat to people. "Nurse sharks eat from the bottom of the ocean, and to one of the sharks named Bob, the hand must have looked like a fish," according to The Deseret News, The woman had five puncture wounds on her hand. Peters said, "Nurse sharks have a bad reputation for being aggressive when they're usually very nice, I don't want people to get the wrong idea," as reported by Audacy.
Shark attack in Illinois
A 1955 study available at the Shark Research Institute says a bull shark bit a child from Chicago named George Lawson in the leg as he was swimming in the Michigan lake, and a man in a boat managed to save him. WBEZ investigated this report's veracity but could not establish its integrity. They got in touch with the victim, his rescuer, and the news reporters, as per reports.