The most conservative, Old Order groups of these reclusive, religious people drive horses and buggies rather than cars. Many have no telephones or electricity in their homes.
They eschew technology and preach isolation from the modern world. They do not join the military or accept assistance from the government.
The Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was a model for the 1985 film Witness starring Harrison Ford, a thriller which contrasted the violent modern world with their peaceful existence.
The oldest group of Old Order Amish, about 16,000-18,000 people, live in Lancaster County, a rural, farming area where Amish first settled in the 1720s - many fleeing religious persecution in Europe.
The Amish are divided into dozens of separate fellowships, broken down into districts or congregations. Each district is fully independent and lives by its own set of unwritten rules, or Ordnung.
The Old Order are the most conservative of these groups, and observe strict regulations on dress, behaviour, and the use of technology, which they believe encourages humility and separation from the world.
Old Order Amish women wear modest dresses with long sleeves and a full skirt, a cape and an apron. They never cut their hair, but wear it in a bun on the back of the head.
Men and boys wear dark-coloured suits, straight-cut coats and black or straw broad-brimmed hats. They grow beards only after they marry.
Modern technology is not rejected out of hand. Some farms have telephones and local groups can allow electricity to be used in certain circumstances.
Most Amish are trilingual. They speak a dialect of German called Pennsylvania Dutch at home, use High German at their worship services, and they learn English at school.
In some ways, the Amish are feeling the pressures of the modern world. Commentators say child labour laws, for example, are threatening long-established ways of life.
While many Amish own firearms, used to hunt and kill wild animals, their communities have until now been largely free of violent gun crime.
FORT MYERS, Florida -- A 19-year-old Florida man rode a whale shark in the Gulf of Mexico last week and posted the video on You Tube.
Although not illegal, Chris Kreis told NBC-2 that he "would jump in if I saw one again, but next time I wouldn't touch the fish."
Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean. They can grow to 50 feet, weigh 40 tons, and live up to 100 years. The filter-feeders are commonly affable and allow divers to interact with them, according to NOAA.
Although Florida is well known for thrilling rides at its theme park, harassing marine animals have become an impromptu amusement lately in the Sunshine State. Last month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission opened an investigation after video of a man cannon balling on a manatee in Cocoa Beach, Florida surfaced on Facebook.
In another incident, a Fort Pierce, Florida man was arrested for allegedly harassing or disturbing a manatee calf in Taylor Creek in St. Lucie County back in in January after photos of him hugging the sea cow were posted on Facebook.
Last September, a woman was photographed riding a manatee at Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County, Florida. The woman contacted the Pinellas County Sheriff's department after the photos were made the news, but was not immediately arrested because authorities said it was an arrestable offense since the manatee harassment did not occur in a deputy’s presence. She was later arrested and charged in November 2012.
But on a lighter note, a Florida lifeguard actually saved a beached shark by pulling it back into the Atlantic Ocean with his bare hands in May.