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Rebecca Wolf

Carrah Royal

English 111

March 5, 2012

Mermaids: No longer just a Fishy Tale

Science offers society more than one hundred and fifty years of studying the paranormal

field of science (Beichler). Researchers have been trying to piece together the gaps in between

materialistic science and the spirituality paranormal (Lindsay). In many cases the work is to

prove the paranormal as hoaxes and frauds but some of the work is done by true believers of the

paranormal who strive to prove to much of the doubtful scientific world that the paranormal are

valid and are explainable in logical terms. Therefore the paranormal deserve as much official

support as possible (Beichler).

Many would argue that a mermaid, nubile young girls with long hair and fish tails that

carrying a comb and a mirror do not exist in the natural world (Blake). Since science has not

been able to directly prove their existence yet, many people claim that they do not exist. Many

hoaxes have caused much doubt in society of their existence. One famous hoax was at the P.T.

Barnum Museum where the "Fiji Mermaid" or the "Feegee Mermaid" was shown. This

taxidermist hoax was assembled of the upper torso of a monkey and the tail of a salmon. This

grotesque creation was put on display for profit. The museum advertised the hoax as a beautiful

seductive half woman half fish creature (Beard).

Though many hoaxes like the "Fiji Mermaid" have occurred, many sighting have been

seen throughout history, even in present day. These sightings are collectively similar and they

appear over and over again for many centuries. Christopher Columbus saw three mermaids while

sailing near Haiti and Sir Richard Whitburne spotted one of these famous creatures while

discovering what is now Newfoundland in 1610 (Blake).

These are just some of the very early accounts of sightings. There is even a case of

capturing one mermaid in 1754. The "Mermaid of Amboina" lived in captivity for four days but

would never speak. The mermaid escaped on the fourth day while bathing on the shore. One of

the latest sightings was in 2009 where dozen of people of the Haifa suburb spotted a young

mythical woman leaping and playing in the sea every night at sunset (Blake). These sightings

have attracted much attention from sightseers and eventually scientists.

Many theories have been created over the years on the so called confusion of mermaids.

Many disbelievers argue that sirenian or the aquatic, herbivorous animals that lived in estuaries,

rivers, coastal marshes, and marine wetlands have caused the long lived tale of mermaids.

Sirenian, including the manatee are quite fat and muscular and from a far distance, so


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disbelievers say, can look like a mermaid that is supposedly stretched into stories of beautiful

woman that the lustful sailors concur. Another point that many argue is that prior to the

nineteenth century sailors nicknamed manatees mermaids.

Many also look at mermaids as an evolution of humans due to the mermaid's half woman

appearance. A rare disease called sirenomelia is a congenital disorder where a child is born withhis or hers legs fused together and the genitalia are shrunken. This disorder is usually fatal with

little known survivors due to kidney failure (Beard).

One lucky survivor of the "mermaid disease" is Tiffany Yorks who beat the odds with

doctors help. The doctors first infused her legs from the knees down and then repeating the

surgery from her knees up. This oldest survivor of the mermaid syndrome ironically is at home

when she is swimming. Tiffany "feels free" when she is in the water (Inside Edition). Many

would see this as very ironic while others see it as a proof of the possibilities of human

evolution.

Another theory is with the science of Cryptozoology. Cryptozoology literally means the

study of hidden animals. These scientists have discovered many animals that were first

considered by society, including the scientific side as hoaxes or superstitions. Zoology sadly

does not consider Cryptozoology a branch of its scientific work due to its eccentric side.

Cryptozoology studies creatures such as the Yeti or Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster but

Cryptozoology has discovered many animals such as the okapi, mountain gorilla, or the most

commonly known giant squid that were never considerable leads by branches of official zoology.

Without the work of Cryptozoology these amazing creatures would not be evident to the world.

Cryptozoology does study things such as Bigfoot and mermaids. This causes Cryptozoology to

be shunned by many onlookers but looking openly on their achievements creatures such as themermaid become closer to real than first thought (Mermaid Found:1917).

A new discovery found off the coast of China is proven to be more than 4,000 years old.

This half human, half fish creature was found deep in the shore and brings the deep question if

mermaids are real to the watery surface. The creature has a petrified tail with fins while the upper

torso with the bones and skull formations of a woman. The mummified creature was discovering

with a shriveled shocking piece of skin still intact along with strands of hair among the feminist

skull (Lindsay). This brings a great amount of proof to the existence of mermaids that even the

strict scientific world can't disagree against. Cryptozoology has brought forth many creatures that

were once seen as paranormal and now are seen as just another interesting creature of our vastworld. One day animals such as the mermaid will be seen as just another creature that is

accepted by our world. These beautiful creatures have been seen throughout history and deserve

their place in the scientific community.

Mermaids have amazed the world for centuries with their beauty and nature. They

deserve to claim their rightful place in society. The proof of mermaids are everywhere, the world


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just needs to look outward with an open mind. Mermaids are tangible creatures and are not just

some fishy tale of the sea.


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