11 Extremely Unsettling Facts About Jellyfish That Just Might Mess You Up

    I'm scared a jellyfish is going to beat me up for writing this.

    Kelly Martinez
    by Kelly Martinez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Hello, good people of the internet. Do you know what the most terrifying sea creature is?

    Nickelodeon

    "A shark*," you confidently answer with a light chuckle.

    Great White Shark
    Alastair Pollock Photography / Getty Images

    *Despite their reputation, most sharks are actually not a danger to humans!

    WRONG. IT'S THIS GUY RIGHT HERE.

    box jellyfish
    Schatzif / Getty Images/ iStockphoto

    "But...that's just a jellyfish," you whimper, confused.

    Miles from "Degrassi" looking confused
    Netflix

    Yes, jellyfish are beautiful! But they're also SCARY AS HELL. Allow me to explain:

    1. First of all, they literally do not have brains. They're just out here swimming around with ZERO brain cells.

    jellyfish captioned "no thoughts head empty"
    Getty Images

    2. They don't have hearts either.

    jellyfish captioned: "just really not ready for anything serious right now sorry"
    Getty Images

    3. They are literally just 95 fucking percent water!!!

    "corporate needs you to find the differences, they're the same picture" meme from "The Office" using a picture of a jellyfish and a picture of a hydro flask with water
    NBC / Getty Images

    4. They can still sting you even after they're DEAD.

    scary looking bright jellyfish
    Cavan Images / Getty Images / Cavan Images RF

    5. Some jellyfish have teeth!!!

    comb jellyfish
    Lagunatic Photo / Getty Images / iStockphoto

    Beroid comb jellyfish have hundreds of small rows of cilia in their mouths that act as teeth and help them chew their prey.

    6. One type of jellyfish can actually reverse age.

    immortal jellyfish
    Duangkamon Panyapatiphan / Getty Images/ iStockphoto

    Turritopsis nutricula, better known as the "immortal jellyfish," can alter and transform its cells to go from adult to baby and back again. Because jellyfish just HAVE to live forever, don't they?!

    7. Know what the most venomous marine animal is? Surprise — it's a type of JELLYFISH!

    Australian box jellyfish swimming
    Humberto Ramirez / Getty Images

    More specifically, it's the Australian Box Jellyfish. According to the National Ocean Service: "Box jellyfish, named for their body shape, have tentacles covered in biological booby traps known as nematocysts — tiny darts loaded with poison. People and animals unfortunate enough to be injected with this poison may experience paralysis, cardiac arrest, and even death, all within a few minutes of being stung." Holy. CRAP.

    8. In fact, box jellyfish have tentacles than reach up to 10 freakin' feet long. Scared yet?

    Nickelodeon

    Yes, I know Squidward is an octopus. Hush.

    9. But that's not the biggest jellyfish — that's actually the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, which has been recorded to reach 120 feet long.

    huge jellyfish
    Stuart Westmorland / Getty Images

    This is fine. I'm fine.

    10. Still not freaked out? What if I told you that a group of jellyfish is powerful enough to take down an entire 10-ton fishing boat?

    Disney

    Yes, that really happened.

    11. And finally, jellyfish sometimes just casually eat each other.

    TVPeru

    They're heartless, remember?

    Jellyfish, you absolute MONSTERS.

    King Jellyfish from SpongeBob
    Nickelodeon

    That being said, they're still very important to our ecosystem! To learn more, click here.