Shark's Teeth

As anyone who knows my fondness for Archie MacPhee will testify, I am liable to announce a propos of nada: “Sharks have no bones!”  

It was a catchy tagline from a catalog some years ago. And true.

Shark are all cartilage and attitude. And, as one might discover on a foggy January wander along a beach – teeth.

Sharks continually shed teeth and grow more. Row after row of them.

Having no tooth-fairy to look after them, these teeth sink to the bottom of the sea.

​Once the chompers hit mud or sand, chemistry does its magic.

​Minerals from the mud (or sand) shimmy into the teeth, making the once-pearly whites, dear, into something rich and chestnut-colored, or black.

Or, according to the lore, blue.

Of course everyone wants a 5-inch-long megladon tooth, but these are pretty cool too.,

Walk down the right beach and tune your attention to the y-shape, and dozens of teeth will appear.

Which makes sense, because sharks have been swimming about for millions of years. And some grow up to 35,000 teeth in a lifetime.

I suppose someone has done the math, but it’s a lot of teeth underfoot. One might say, the opposite of hen's teeth, even.