Mark your calendars, set your DVR’s and whatever you do, stay out of the water – the 24^th annual Shark Week airs on the Discovery Channel starting July 31 at 9pm e/p.

The week-long series features television programs dedicated solely to the sea’s biggest predators, with shows like 10 Deadliest Sharks, Great White Invasion and Rogue Sharks. In addition to thrilling and chilling, Shark Week was also invented to help the average landlubber have a greater respect for these swimming beasts.

Saturday Night Live cast member Andy Samberg will host the series and has been given the coveted title of the first-ever Chief Shark Officer (CSO). He will film on-air wraps, host a Shark Week special and may even don a wetsuit to go nose-to-nose with the jawesome fish.

More than just killing machines, check out these fin-tastic facts about sharks:

• There are about 350 different types of sharks
• The dwarf shark is as small as your hand, while the whale shark can be as large as a school bus
• Sharks have been around for more the 300 million years
• More people are killed by bee stings than shark attacks
• A Mako shark can swim up to 60 miles per hour
• A shark may go through 1000 sets of teeth in its lifetime
• Big meals can last in a shark’s stomach for 3 months
• A tiger shark can have up to 40 babies at a time
• A shark does not have one bone in its body; its skeleton is made up of cartilage
• Weird stuff has been found inside shark’s bellies, including drums, a six-pound cannonball, the remains of a polar bear, bottles of wine and a complete copy of the New York Times.

Ever wondered what you’d look like as a shark? You can Shark Yourself by uploading a photo and adding shark eyes, mouths, fins and skins. Here’s yours truly. What do YOU look like?

The Discovery Channel Store has great selection of shark merchandise, including this nifty shark hoodie. I bought one for my son and he gets a kick out of folding his arms and giving his friends a friendly chomp. Buy a discounted Discovery Channel Store gift card from Plastic Jungle then get an additional 10% savings when you sign up for The Discovery Channel Store email alerts.

Need an upgraded television to view the action in high-definition or on a bigger screen? Check out Plastic Jungle’s discounted gift cards to Best Buy, Sears and RC Willey.

Does all this talk about sharks make you hungry for seafood? Swim over to Red Lobster, McCormick & Schmick’s and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and don’t forget to pack Plastic Jungle’s discounted gift cards in your life vest.

Buy discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle and take a bite out of full prices.

As a follow up to our previous post (We Want Your Gift Cards! 70+ New Merchants on Plastic Jungle)…

Thanks to all of our savvy shoppers’ feedback, we now accept an additional 164 merchants (see below), bringing our total list to more than 400 merchants.  This means you can exchange more of the gift cards you have tucked away in your sock drawers for cash (we pay up to 92% of the verified balance), or an Amazon.com gift card.

As always, Plastic Jungle provides FREE shipping for all gift card transactions. Find those hidden treasures and sell gift cards you are not planning to use so you can get extra cash for your summer vacation!

Are there other gift cards you would like to see on our list? Enter the brand in the comments field below, and we will do our best to add them to our list of accepted merchants.

Full list of recently added merchants

Plastic Jungle is now paying:

(note, prices can vary so please check the site for the most current offers)