How about having some fun, taking part in a real adventure, touching the real ancient
history, and earning a lot of money — and all of it at the same time?
Nah, I'm not talking about some king's tomb raiding.
I offer you to go on a megalodon tooth hunting adventure!
But before we go on the journey, it's important to understand what kind of beast we are dealing
with.
Megalodon is an ancient marine predator, a giant shark that terrified all the inhabitants
of the seas and oceans about 23 to 2.5 million years ago.
This monster was the size of a road train and weighed like a tank.
The strength of its bite was more than that of a T-Rex, and it had about three hundred
teeth.
Each of them was the size of an adult human palm.
And we go hunting for those "babies".
No treasure hunter goes on a journey without knowing the stakes, so here you are: one such
tooth is worth from $50 to several thousand dollars.
You can picture what you could spend that on, can’t you?
So you on board?
Then let's do it.
First you need to prepare.
What we're gonna need is a hat, a whip, signal rockets...
Oh, this is not an Indiana Jones movie?
Too bad.
The reality is much simpler: -Rubber boots.
We'll be looking for teeth near the water, and if the weather is bad, you’ll want your
feet warm and dry.
–Snorkeling mask.
Just in case.
–A tent.
You might have to spend a night under a starry sky.
–A sharp knife.
In case you have to recover a tooth from stone.
–A special basket or hoop-net for filtering water and dirt.
You can buy one at a fishing store or do it yourself.
The basket is made of metal mesh and attached to a stick.
That's it!
Now buy a ticket, and the journey begins.
You can go almost anywhere: New Zealand, Denmark, South America, Australia, and many other places
around the world.
Megalodon fossils were found even in the Mariana Trench.
This predator swam where it pleased and was at the top of the food chain anywhere.
So no need for remote corners of the world.
A place with good climate and where civilization isn't very far is nice to combine relaxation
and adventure.
Florida, then.
You buy a ticket for the next flight and spend the next couple of hours making the fishing
basket.
Looks perfect, doesn’t it?
Ha, I’m so proud!
Hey, we're landing.
People get off the plane and rush to meet their families, or to work, or to rest.
You feel special among them, like a secret agent on a mission.
So, our next stop is the beach.
You rent a jeep, buy a paper map (this is more like an adventure than GPS).
You're arriving to this "treasure island" two hours later, and...
What’s this?
Crowds of people, tents with lemonade, even a parking lot!
Shops on the shore sell fishing baskets for $7!
And they look better than your "perfect" one.
The bad news is that megalodon tooth hunting is one of the most popular entertainments
for local residents and tourists alike.
It's like Las Vegas, where you have a fishing rod instead of playing cards and shark teeth
instead of chips.
People rent yachts and scuba diving gear to find the teeth underwater.
They even pay for guided tours to places where the teeth can be found.
Hunting for a megalodon tooth was a real adventure perhaps 100 years ago, but now it has turned
into a business.
Florida was underwater millions of years ago, so there are many remains of these predators.
But their teeth are the most preserved.
The fact is that megalodon, like any shark, could replace its teeth when they fell out.
It's like a conveyor belt: a shark clung to its prey very strongly, some teeth fell out,
then new ones grew in the shark's jaw.
Alright.
You're upset a little bit, but you're not giving up.
You go as far away from people as possible.
1 mile, 2 miles, 5... okay, stop right here.
There’s still a lot of people, but you're so tired that you don't care.
You finally get down to fishing.
The process is quite simple.
Just rake the sand near the water with your fishing basket.
Small pebbles and shells remain in the basket when the sea wave leaves, and a shark tooth
can also be found among all this.
Those lucky enough find them right as soon as they start raking the beach.
So, you get to work.
No hint of a tooth.
Stones, some rubbish and shells.
The sun is scorching hot, you're exhausted and want to go home or to the nearest hotel,
when all of a sudden... a guy stands up not far from you, looking triumphantly at a treasure
he just found.
He holds out a tooth about half the size of your palm.
"$1000 in my pocket," says the lucky one and leaves the beach.
This gives you more strength and motivation.
You continue to search and then it starts to rain.
You are cold and soaked to the bone.
You think, "That's it, I'm leaving," but then you notice that the entire beach is empty
because of rain.
You are alone for several miles around.
It gives you second wind, and you keep going!
If you don't want to come here in such weather, then come early in the morning.
There will also be very few people.
Finally, you find a tooth!
Not a megalodon’s, though, just an ordinary shark’s tooth, no more than a couple of
inches across.
The bigger, the more expensive.
Size is measured diagonally.
If you find a 7-inch tooth, you can consider yourself rich.
But not only size is important, but quality as well.
Check the cracks on the tooth.
The tooth may fall apart if there are too many.
How well is the enamel preserved?
The tooth will be more expensive with a sharp end.
Root integrity is also important.
Bourrelet is appreciated – a thin strip between the root and the blade.
Of course, you're unlikely to find a perfect tooth, but such small details greatly affect
the price of your find.
If the tooth looks really bad, then you can give it for repair.
Be ready for it to be two or three times cheaper after that, though.
It's getting dark.
You're getting ready to leave the beach, when suddenly you hear, "Psst, you there.
Are you looking for a shark tooth?" — a thin old man asks you.
He is local, and he looks like a magician who comes to the aid of a hero at just the
right time.
"Of course I am," you reply.
The old man is impressed by your will and zeal for the goal.
He chooses you and is going to help now.
He knows one secret place.
You can find megalodon teeth there.
"I'll lead you to an ancient cave where history has preserved not only teeth but probably
a whole megalodon skeleton,"– the old man tells you and requires 20 bucks for it.
You agree.
The old man can't get into the cave as he is too weak.
So he tells you his secret because you are worthy.
It’s starting to sound vaguely familiar -- like the plot of Aladdin, doesn’t it?
But you don’t care…
You try to get to the cave.
You have to climb a mountain and squeeze through a small gap between the stones to get inside.
Finally, you’re there.
Sunlight passes between the rocks and illuminates a small azure lake.
There are a lot of shells and crabs scurrying around.
You are so fascinated that you don't notice a heart drawing and a date painted on the
cave wall.
Someone has been here before you, obviously.
You start digging the sand with your fishing basket and finally find it!
Not 7, but all of 9 inches!
Pristine condition!
Sharp like a razor!
You can get not tens, but hundreds of thousands of dollars with such a tooth.
You get out of the cave satisfied, thank the old man for help and go to the nearest...
no, not a pawn shop.
There are special auctions selling dinosaur fossils, and there are museums that will happily
buy your find.
But the easiest way to sell it is the Internet.
You need to confirm its value and get a detailed examination if you want someone to buy the
tooth.
You go to an archeological lab.
A scientist looks at your tooth through a microscope, raises his eyes at you, and says:
"Six."
"Six hundred thousand dollars," you specify.
"nah.
Six dollars, period.”
He says.
Teeth like this one are sold in a gift shop on the next street."
There are so many megalodon tooth hunters that there are even more people who want to
make money off them.
You can find thousands of fakes — and very good ones at that! — on the Internet.
Fraudsters can easily fool you, just as the old man did — he threw the tooth into the
"secret" cave and arranged the situation as if you had found it.
Ingenious.
You are flying back home.
It's a shame that you were conned out of 20 bucks, but still, you got what you came for.
It wasn’t about a tooth, after all, but a little adventure.
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