clipped from: animals.howstuffworks.com What many people may not know is that Benchley's novel was inspired by a real set of shark attacks on the beach communities of New Jersey in 1916. That story clocks in at number two on our list, just ahead of the true story of the USS Indianapolis attacks that "Jaws'" shark hunter, Quint, recounts in gory detail to Chief Brody and Matt Hooper.