"Jaws": The True Story Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Jersey Shore shark attacks

The year was 1916. America was in the grip of one of its longest-running heatwaves. Naturally, this sent thousands of people flocking to the nearest rivers and beaches, looking for ways to keep cool.

In all, five people were attacked on the Jersey Shore. Only one survived.

Answer: July 1st, 1916

On Saturday, July 1st, 1916, 25-year-old Charles Epting Vansant on was vacation with his family at Beach Haven, New Jersey. Before dinner that evening, Charles decided to go for a swim in the Atlantic with a dog that was playing on the beach. Shortly after entering the water, bathers heard him screaming for help. Despite being rescued by lifeguard Alexander Ott, Charles' left leg was severely mauled and he died at 6:45pm.

Answer: Bull shark

On July 14th, two days after the fifth attack, a 2.5m Great White was captured and killed in Raritan Bay. It was identified as the "Jersey Man-Eater" when fleshy material, believed to be human remains, was found in its stomach.

However, Great Whites are oceanic sharks, and since 3 of the attacks occured in an inland river, it's more likely that the culprit was actually a Bull Shark.

Answer: Lester Stilwell

On the afternoon of Wednesday, July 12th, 1916, 11-year-old Lester Stilwell was attacked by a large shark while swimming with friends in Matawan Creek. 24-year-old Watson Stanley Fisher, who attempted to rescue Lester, was also attacked and killed.

Lester's body was recovered on July 14th, 46 metres upstream from where the attack occured.

Answer: True

12-year-old Joseph Dunn was attacked by a shark in Matawan Creek less than an hour after the fatal attacks on Lester Stilwell and Watson Stanley Fisher. He was rescued by his brother and taken to St. Peter's University Hospital where he recovered from the attack. He was released on September 15th, 1916.

Answer: True

Only a few hours before the attacks on Lester Stilwell, Joseph Dunn and Watson Stanley Fisher, a Matawan resident, Thomas Cottrell, reported seeing a 2.5m shark in Matawan Creek. At the time, however, sharks weren't considered dangerous and the threat was ignored.

Answer: Installed shark-nets

Besides installing sharks-nets, they also detonated dynamite in the Matawan Creek. Despite this, no sharks were caught or killed.

Answer: 12 days

The attacks began on July 1st and continued until July 12th.

In 2004, the story of the Jersey Shore attacks was made into a movie called "Twelve Days of Terror."

Answer: $5,000,000

In some areas bathing declined by 75%.

Answer: True

There's a beach scene in the first "Jaws" movie where viewers will hear Police Chief Brody say the following line: "And there's no limit to what he's gonna do! I mean we've already had three incidents, two people killed inside of a week. And it's gonna happen again, it happened before! The Jersey Beach! 1916! Five people chewed up in the surf!"

This is a direct reference to the Jersey Shore shark attacks.