6 places on Earth where you can actually see mermaids

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

For centuries, mermaids have captured the imaginations of sailors and landowners alike. Everyone was interested in who they were: people, animals or fish. Fortunately, there are still places on the planet where you can see their remains, and in some places - even their living.

1. Cancer with a mermaid mummy (Fujinomiya, Japan)

According to legend, the remains of the oldest known mermaid are kept in a temple in the Japanese city of Fujinomiya. As the story goes, this creature came to the local prince 1400 years ago, claiming that it was once an ordinary fisherman. He was cursed because he started fishing in the protected waters. The mermaid man asked the prince to build a temple as a reminder of his mistake. There they placed the remains of the cursed fisherman for everyone to see.

2. A body of water near the Big Bend power plant (Apollo Beach, Florida, USA)

It is widely believed that the myths of mermaids emerged when sailors first saw manatees or sea cows swimming gracefully under the waves. Their resemblance to mermaids is simply striking: the front flippers resemble hands, and the rear ones resemble a fish tail. These animals feed on algae, which, fluttering, creates the illusion of hair on the head. And the undulating surface of the water hides all the "flaws" of such a mermaid, for example, her weight. An adult animal up to 3.5 meters long weighs from 500 kilograms to one and a half tons.

Manatees are best seen up close in the warm wastewater from a Florida power plant. The warm water creates an attractive living environment for these creatures, which in some way can be considered mermaids.

3. Fijian mermaid at the Museum of Nature (Grafton, Vermont, USA)

The Fijian mermaid became famous thanks to the stormy activities of Phineas Barnum, the famous showman and entrepreneur of the 19th century. His mermaid was a mummified creature resembling a monkey, to which a fish tail was attached. Barnum took her with an exhibition of all sorts of "oddities" throughout the country. Following his example, "Fijian mermaids" began to appear in other places. They got their name from the distant and mysterious (at that time) islands of Fiji in the Pacific Ocean.

The classic Fijian mermaid shown in the photographs is kept at the Nature Museum in Vermont. A rude monster with a terrible grimace does not at all look like a beautiful mermaid from legends. The ugly creature bears all the signs of a 19th century forgery. He has a thick mustache on his face, so it is most likely a male.

4. Henyo - women of the sea (Jeju Island, South Korea)

These South Korean "mermaids" are living women who are engaged in underwater fishing. For a long time, their work was the backbone of the economy of Jeju Island. The task of divers is to dive 3-5 meters and collect shellfish and algae. "Seafood" is then brought ashore and sold. They are highly appreciated by Asian gourmets.

The word "henyo" means "woman of the sea." Indeed, each of them has enough wetsuit and diving goggles. The most experienced haenyo can work at depths of up to 20 meters. Indeed, these Korean divers are somewhat reminiscent of mythical mermaids.

5. Mermaids from Wicky Weshey (Wicky Weshey, Florida, USA)

Florida's Mermaid City is the safest way to see a sea maiden in the flesh up close. Since 1947, beautiful girls have been performing a spectacular underwater show here in a giant aquarium. Viewing windows are installed below the water level, through which you can watch the bright tails of gracefully swimming mermaids. The water is always clean and transparent, because it comes from an underground source.

6. The Little Mermaid Statue (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Looking at the famous statue in Copenhagen, it seems as if it emerged from the depths of the sea, like the little mermaid from the tale of Hans Christian Andersen. The monument, created in 1913, attracts crowds of tourists from all over the world. This is, without a doubt, the "reference" mermaid that immediately comes to mind: a beautiful girl on top with a fish tail underneath.

Nowadays, mermaids are considered beauties. And several centuries ago, they occupied a place next to the scariest monsters from the medieval bestiary.