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.

The Valentine’s Day date is a bit of a test. What will the night say about your romantic relationship? What kind of Valentine’s date would be the most fun and romantic for you? What kind of Valentine’s gift is appropriate – a sweet little candy necklace or a getaway trip for two to Bermuda?

Even without the pressure of a romantic holiday, today’s economy puts pressure on almost any night out. Will the restaurant be worth the money?

Valentine Dining Tip: You’ve got to know where you’re going. Finding a good restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean finding the best restaurant in town. The right restaurant should reflect your tastes, tickle your stomach, and in the end, make you and your date happy.

Do a little research. There are tons of sites that compile write-ups on local restaurants. Start with Yelp.com.  Even in the smallest cities you’ll find mostly honest reviews on Yelp from real people on popular places.

Zagat, online as Zagat.com, has little maroon-colored print guides, and is known for quick, easy reviews. The quality of Zagat’s reviews is solid – basically crowd-sourcing restaurant reviews, condensing them, and publishing a perfect outline of what to expect from the restaurant in about three sentences. Zagat is only available in select cities. (No Eagle River Zagat Guide, I’m afraid.) Zagat’s Valentine’s Day planner might be useful.

Restaurant Row offers quick overviews of restaurants, and the great thing is that you can search a chain, say Tony Roma’s, or Morton’s Steakhouse, and up pops all the locations around the country, with location and contact information. Restaurant Row also offers a “Restaurant Row Top 10” from five cities in every state – and these aren’t restaurants chosen by some snob, these are the restaurants with the most requests on their site.

Open Table hosts reviews of restaurants, and also takes reservations for some 15,000 restaurants nationally and internationally, boasting that their reservations are “free, instant, confirmed”.  Open Table’s Valentine’s Day reservations page, and invites you to make restaurant reservations at your destination if you are traveling.

Wondering what the “experts” think? Well, travel and food writers (see Guyot.com, TravelandLeisure.com, BonAppetit.com) tend to be a particularly critical bunch, offering their opinions on “the best of the best” all the time. Beware of sites that list the “Top 10 Most Romantic Restaurants in the US”, because as soon as something like that is published, the #1 restaurant closes or is topped by something more exotic. Just go with your gut, and keep it simple. Remember, it’s YOU your date wants to be with, not the expensive ambiance, the food, or the “spectacular service” at the restaurant you pick!

Remember that if you’ve got an unused gift card in your pocket, you can always sell your gift card on Plastic Jungle for cash (or trade it for an Amazon.com Gift Card, or fund a PayPal account, and more) which might defray the cost of a night out.

What about outright dining savings? You get that at Plastic Jungle, too. There are tons of restaurant gift cards available on Plastic Jungle; some, like the Darden Restaurants, are good at all the restaurants in the chain. Discount Darden Restaurant Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle are currently offered at 10% off face value, and are good at Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grill restaurants across the US. Or try Restaurant.com Gift Cards, which are good at thousands of restaurants nationwide.

Other Discounted Restaurant Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle Include*:

Applebee’s

Black Angus Steakhouse

(The) Cheesecake Factory

Chili’s (Gift Cards are also good at Macaroni Grill, On The Border, Maggiano’s)

Morton’s Steakhouse (currently at 17% off!)

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

TGI Friday’s

Tony Roma’s

Hurry, supplies are limited. You can always set an alert to be notified when your favorite gift cards come into stock at a discount on Plastic Jungle.

Let us know where you’re going for Valentine’s Day and let us know if you had fun!

*Gift card prices and availability may vary.