Most children have dreamed of making an exciting discovery on a beach or in an old cave at one point or another. Perhaps it’s a product of too many adventure films and TV series, maybe it’s just natural human curiosity at a young age.

In any case, I can vividly remember how excited I was when my grandfather gifted me a metal detector for my 11th birthday. Oh, the lost treasure I was going to find! I couldn’t wait to head out to the beach and start scanning the sand.

While I – much to my dismay – didn’t discover anything remotely worthy of a museum exhibit, the truth is that there are fascinating finds made on shores across the world every year.

Just ask Molly Sampson, a young girl from Maryland who used her favorite Christmas present to discover a 5-inch-long tooth from a terrifying sea creature that lived millions of years ago…

According to reports, Molly and her sister Natalie had asked for insulated waders and fossil sifters for Christmas in 2022. They wanted to go shark tooth hunting in the waters of Chesapeake Bay, and so set out with their dad, Bruce Sampson, at low tide to see what they could find.