This happened off the coast of South Africa to a team of researchers studying sharks. The team had been chumming the water with fish oil when an adult female great white shark came flying out of the water and landed on the deck. From NPR:
The team eventually succeeded in getting the shark off the boat (the related Slate article says the same shark beached herself immediately afterwards and was rescued again). The shark survived and nobody was injured.
Not really mundane, but I had to share it.
Good thing they had a bigger boat.
In South Africa, shark jumps you?
I totally read this title as “Great White Shark jumps into researcher’s throat.”
I heard that interview as I was driving home from work. The funniest part was that the researcher kept talking about how stressed the shark was.
Yup. I would’ve shit enough bricks to build a moderately sized house, and scampered up the mast/radio antenna, screeching like a poop-flinging-monkey.
Somewhat unmanly, yes, but something about this just reaches right down to the monkey-brain and hands it the keys to my body.
I will never again complain about having a frog in my throat.
I think the shark was simply sick of all the shark-bashing in human media, and was trying to give the researcher a lesson in tolerant multispeciealism.
Unfortunately, she forgot that sharks can’t breathe air.
I’m with ExTank, only I don’t think I would have been organized enough to build anything out of the half-ton of building materials deposited in my pants.
[obligatory Yakov Smirnoff joke]In Soviet Russia, the shark jumps you![/oYSj]
The title screams for this joke doesn’t it? Came in here to do it myself but Martian Bigfoot was all over it by the third post.
Clearly that animal is suicidal, and should be allowed to die. Won’t someone think of the sharkpups?
White Sharks can’t jump.
Yeah…I really shouldn’t post when I’m sleep-deprived. I didn’t see a “In Soviet Russia” opener, so assumed the joke had not yet been made. My bad. 
MB’s joke was way better. Kudos, Martin Bigfoot!
After your arachnid stories, I don’t think you need to worry about damaging your manliness rating. 
I’ve never heard of a shark jumping in a boat anywhere. I’m a bit sceptical about this one. Maybe it’s like Japanese whale research vessels where the whale meat mysteriously ends up on the dining room table.
Hooperrrrrrrr!!!
There’s always a first time.
Considering the amount of trouble the researchers had getting the shark off of the boat, I doubt they could have gotten her up there by themselves. And it’s been documented that sharks will launch themselves out of the water when pursuing prey near the surface.
Shark’s just doing her thing, chasing after something that looks and smells like food, she’s coming in for a landing and suddenly there’s this boat in her way! Poor shark.
What is it with jumping sharks? I already did the Yakov Smirnoff jokes a month ago when a shark jumped a surfer in Florida:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614146&highlight=shark+jump
I take it that link is a pic of a great white ? I can’t even look at them that’s how freak’n terrified I am of them. My sister is the same partly because of the movie jaws we were forced to watch as kids and my asshole stepfather at the time. Who thought it was hilarious to scare the shit out of my sister and I as kids with posters of real great whites continously.
I wouldn’t even get in a shark cage with them for a gazillion dollars.
