From animals to plants, and even the clouds that float about our heads, there are some things in nature that can hold incredible amounts of water.

One plant that is famous for its ability to store large quantities of water is the cactus. While the size and type of cactus determine how much it can hold, about 90% of a cactus’ body is devoted to storing water. The famous Saguaro Cactus of the Southwestern U.S. expands like an accordian after rainfall soaking up as much water up as possible. A signle Saguaro Cacti can hold a ton of water!

Another one of nature’s water retainers are clouds. A cloud’s ability to retain water is immense. It’s a hard to say what single cloud holds but according to the National Weather Service, “one inch of rain over one square mile equals 17.4 million gallons of water weighing 143 million pounds.” Wow.

The past week on the Discovery Channel has been dedicated to the often feared and dangerous dominators of the ocean. Yes, of course… sharks! Once again the Discovery Channel is featuring Shark Week. Shark Week premiered in 1987 and has been on every summer since.

To show our appreciation, we have decided to provide you with a fascinating list of the most interesting shark facts:

• The biggest shark is the whale shark which can grow up to 50 feet long.
• The dusky shark can exert a force of 132 pounds with a single bite.
• Most sharks live for 20-30 years but the spiny dogfish shark can live over 100 years.
• A shark may use 20,000 teeth during its lifetime.
• There are over 350 types of sharks, and researchers believe there are still many more undiscovered.
• The bull shark is best known for its ability to travel in both salt water and fresh water.
• In 1937, fisherman in Illinois captured a five foot long shark that swam 600 miles up the Mississippi River.
• Most sharks swim at 20-40 miles per hour while the Mako shark is said to swim up to 60 miles per hour.
• It’s often said that sharks can’t get cancer. This is UNTRUE. Read More

Learn more about Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.