They’ve Been Taken Out by Cookiecutter Sharks

A nuclear submarine sounds intimidating because of its large crew, arsenal of missiles, and nuclear weapons. Yet how resilient are they? What can they withstand? Evidently not your typical shark. These sharks are quite little. How little? They're also known as "cigar sharks" on occasion.

Males will never grow longer than a foot and a half. However, they are renowned for their bite. Their unusually rounded lips, which can cut circles out of their prey's body, give them the nickname "cookiecutter." In addition, they have the ability to cut circles from the electrical wires and rubber sonar domes present on nuclear submarines.

Nuclear submarines have been so badly damaged by cookie-cutter sharks that they have been practically rendered blind, forcing them to return to shipyards for repairs. The good news is that this issue arose in the 1970s, and it appears that later subs were altered to make them less appetizing to sharks.