In the wet lab scene, Cater (?) strokes the shark both ways. Sharks' skin has very sharp scales, so petting it one way, it would feel smooth, but the other way would rip your hand to pieces.
I don't know about a full grown shark, but I have caught a number of small sharks (one to two feet) in the gulf of Mexico, I've never seen any scales on a shark.
If memory serves, sharks do not have scales, but rather their skin is covered by a multitude of small "teeth", as i believe they are called, that face backwards on a shark. correct me if I'm wrong, please.
Sharks skin is very abrasive, like sand paper. Rubbing it the wrong way would not feel to good. Some primitive fishing cultures used shark skin as sand paper to smooth out wood...
I don't know if you'd call it sandpapery, but rubbing a shark in general
is a bad idea no matter what direction, yes. I think one of the Jaws movies more accurately shows this kind of thing: a shark merely brushes against someone, and they start bleeding profusely.
I don't know if you would call it scales or not, but shark skin does NOT feel good petting it the wrong way. I've petted smaller sharks before and accidently rubbed it the other way. It felt like rubbing sandpaper.
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