ARE MERMAIDS REAL?

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A mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of female human and tail of a fish. mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. there are a lot of TV shows, movies, and fairy tales about mermaids. some of them are fun and lighthearted, others are designed to be scary. moreover, some people have claimed to have seen real mermaids, but these have been proven to be hoaxes. one thing we do know is that mermaid has been a part of human storytelling around the world for a long time.

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Historically, mermaids were viewed in various ways in accordance to specific regions. thousands of years ago in the ancient Neo-Sumerian Empire, the goddess Atargatis was described as being half women and half fish. likewise, the ancient Roman writer Pliny says that there were a lot of people who washed up on the shore and these people were converted in scale.in the middle east, there were many depictions of mermaids and the depictions were common across Europe. Mermaids in middle ages were viewed as dangerous and said to drown sailors. many tales warned men to be careful at sea.

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apparently, there have been cases of mistaken identity, when exploration became more widespread, sailors began to see animals such as the manatee and dugong more, often mistaking them for mermaids. both the animals have a long tail that resembles the traditional mermaid's tail. during the period, the mermaids were still seen by sailors as an omen of ill luck. this notion was changed when Hans Christian Anderson wrote the little mermaid in 183. while previous tales focused on mermaids luring sailors to their death, the little mermaid was notable for having the mermaid saved human life.

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In 1842, P.T Barnum, who owned a museum in America, attempted to prove mermaids exist. barnum announced he had come into possession of a Fee jee mermaid. the mermaid was a carefully sewn together forgery: a baby monkey's head, chest, and arms were attached to the tail of a fish. this capture the imagination of Barnum's audience, who had previously seen Dugong and manatee tail displayed as genuine mermaids tails. while Fee jee mermaids now known as one of Barnum's many fake animals.

while we have no proof that mermaids exist and the proven proof came out to be a forgery, there are many cultures with a tradition of part-human who lives in oceans or lakes. very few mythical creatures can be found in so many diverse cultures across such a long period of time without change. so even if mermaids are not real, they will likely continue to lurk on the human imagination.

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