While Shark Week airs nationally on the Discovery Channel, many people don't know that Discovery Communications is right here in Montgomery County.

On the building of its Silver Spring headquarters, just a short drive from the north side of the county, Discovery lets "Chompie" - its Shark Week mascot - out of his tank every couple of years to help celebrate Shark Week. 

Ever wonder how Chompie was created or how long it takes to install him on the Discovery Communications’ headquarters building?

Here are some fun facts to get you started on learning more about your favorite shark friend in Silver Spring!

• Chompie is 446-feet long from the tip of his nose to the back of his tail.

• Chompie is 113-feet tall from his belly to his dorsal fin.

• Chompie is 200-feet wide from tip to tip of his side fins.

• If he were real, Chompie would weigh 84,000 pounds. 

• It took 11,720 yards (which is about 6.65 miles) of fabric to make Chompie.

• It took 36.7 miles of thread and .75 of a mile of seatbelt webbing to bring Chompie to life.

• The only non-fabric parts are the rings that are used to attach Chompie to the building.

• It took an average of 1,280 man hours per shark piece to sew the fabric together, for a total of 6,400 hours.

• Chompie is made up of five pieces: head, two side fins, dorsal fin and tail.

• He was hoisted into place using a crane and tied down by cables and ropes and 10 air blowers to keep him animated.

Get the full effect of Chompie's presence in the aerial view on the accompanying video.

Shark Week kicks off Aug. 12, featuring Air Jaws Apocalypse, Shark Week's Impossible Shots and Sharkzilla.

Send Patch your pics of Chompie to Tamika@Patch.com or twit pic us @SilvSpringPatch!