this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
818 points (99.2% liked)

Science Memes

18326 readers
1405 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Klear@quokk.au 10 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Nope. Sharks are smooth as hell in all directions.

[–] moody@lemmings.world 9 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

In general, the crowns of dermal denticles have cusps pointing tailward, which is why a shark feels relatively smooth if stroked from head-to-tail but sandpapery coarse if stroked the other way.

http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/scales.htm

[–] Zorcron@piefed.zip 6 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It’s telling me that shark skin is “smooth from all directions and at all times”

[–] moody@lemmings.world 3 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

Are you reading the same thing I'm reading? Literally every search result describes shark skin as dermal denticles, or sharp tooth-like scales aligned from front to back, "relatively smooth" in one direction, and sandpaper-like in the other.

Apparently other animals regularly get injured brushing up against them.

[–] SparroHawc@lemmy.zip 7 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Well, I'm touching a shark right now. Rubbing it every which way. No direction is off limits. It's smoother than the finest silks

[–] Honytawk@feddit.nl 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

But other question, is shark wet?

[–] EddoWagt@feddit.nl 1 points 6 hours ago

Presumably their skin doesn't absorb or hold water much, if at all. So shark is probably dry