Quirky News
Shark-filled aquarium bursts open
A giant shark-filled aquarium caused terror when it burst open in China injuring 15 people with flying glass and fish.
Horrified passers-by fled in panic when the 10ins thick protective glass suddenly gave way, flooding the entrance of the Dongfang shopping mall in Shanghai.
Three lemon sharks and dozens of smaller fish and turtles perished when the 34 ton tank shattered without warning, say police.
The tank had become a local landmark since it was installed two years ago and every week a diver would swim with the sharks, feeding them by hand.
"There was no warning. Just a loud crack and it went. I've never been so scared," said one worker.
A police spokesman said: "There were lots of injuries caused by flying glass, some of them serious because the glass was so thick. We are investigating what caused this."
Adrian Wagstaff
3:04pm on 19/12/2012
I remember some years ago seeing a program on the television which suggested most people underestimate how much water can really weigh. Even one litre of water weighs a kilogram, which doesn't seem like a lot. So then, just ten of those is ten kilograms or twenty-two pounds. 10 * 2.2? 23? So, one hundred times one litre then becomes one hundred kilograms or a one hundred litre fish tank is holding 230 lbs of water? I think an Olympian weight lifter would pretend to not struggle with that.
andy johnson
3:36pm on 19/12/2012
but that is salt water and is much heavier