The news that a 1,000-pound great white shark had sent an electronic ping from the waters off New Jersey made headlines last week - thanks to our obsession with them.

Even when they're just swimming in the deep sea, hundreds of miles away, they capture our imagination and stoke our deepest fears.

But when you look at the numbers - the sheer improbability of a shark killing a human, you quickly realize we've all gotten a little carried away.

RELATED: 1,000-pound great white shark recorded swimming near Jersey Shore

Nothing made that fact sink in more than a few statistical deep dives people have done into a seemingly remarkable claim by the New England Aquarium, that vending machines - yes, vending machines - kill more people in the United States historically than sharks.

On Brian's Positively New Jersey, I hit the beach for a look at how the dangerous 1,000-pound beast may not be the shark swimming in the ocean offshore, but the robot shelling out your Pepsi and Frito's on the boardwalk.