The food that helped Steven Spielberg complete Jaws
If garlic keeps vampires away, what is it that keeps nightmares of attacking sharks at bay? Celery, well that's what director Steven Spielberg used when he was making Jaws.
He had enough nightmares in the day, what with an ever changing script, tide, uncooperative islanders and an often malfunctioning shark.
And that shark swam into his dreams, attacking a swimming Spielberg from the depths, only for it then to stop working and float to the surface.
So, in an effort to stop the recurring nightmares that Spielberg had during his sleep whilst making the shark classic, the famed director took to sleeping with a stick of celery under his pillow, which is said to have a calming aroma.
“Yes, that’s right, 159 celery sticks please.”
Indeed, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, wrote that celery could be used to calm the nerves. It has long been used in Chinese medicine and has a history of being used in treating nervous disorders.
Perhaps he should have tried eating the stuff as well, not after he’s been sleeping on it all night of course.
It has been shown that the minerals and nutrients in celery have a calming effect on the nervous system, helping with insomnia and other sleeping disorders...not all caused by making shark films on the ocean.
How quickly it worked, how often he switched the celery and what part of the Jaws budget was spent on the crunchy vegetable over its 159 days filming remains to be seen.
And yes, I am off to buy some celery. I'll be eating it, not sleeping with it though.
“I’m king of the celery!”
Words by Dean Newman
If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page
For all the latest Jaws, shark and shark movie news, follow The Daily Jaws on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.