Rick’s Latest Listicle: Mer-Facts About Mermaids and Mermen

By Rick Rose for LGBTSr.com
Co-Host of The Twist Podcast

My best friend Leanza Cornett created and performed as the first Little Mermaid at Disney World, FL before she was crowned Miss America 1993. Recently, the live action version of the movie was released with Melissa McCarthy brilliantly playing Urusla. So here are my top 6 interesting facts about mermaids and their male counterparts.

6)  The tourism board in Kiryat Yam offered a million dollars for a photo of a real mermaid. Something strange began happening in this seaside town in Israel in 2009 when one person than dozens of others reported seeing the same astonishing sight: a mermaid frolicking in the waves near the shore. Still no million has been given away.

5)  How did this funny talk of man/fish begin? Scientists think that human-sized ocean animals like manatees could be the foundation of the mermaid myth. Manatees are definitely strange and mysterious creatures, and they could easily be mistaken for mermaids by someone who doesn’t know what they are. Right?

4)  No one should be surprised that P.T. Barnum had a fake mermaid on display at his circus. The guy was always looking for ways to make a quick penny and the infatuation for mermaids has never gone away. Talk about ensuring sustainability.

3)  Japanese priests believed that water soaked in the bones of a mermaid would prevent disease. This belief may have originated from the fact that mermaids are often associated with the ocean, which is a source of life and healing. In Japanese mythology, the ocean is also seen as a place of mystery and magic and it would be logical that something as rare and beautiful as a mermaid could possess healing powers.

2)  English sailors told tales of encountering mermen in the ocean who challenged their captain to a rhyming contest. If the captain lost, the mermen would sink his ship. A rhyming contest, of all things? Must have been a drunken one, for sure.

1)  Animal Planet once made a fake documentary called Mermaids: The Body Found. It was so realistic that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had to release a statement denying the existence of mermaids after it aired. This documentary was a huge success, and it helped to revive the public’s interest in mermaids.

Even in the 21st century, people are still fascinated by the idea of these creatures, and they are more than willing to believe that they might exist.

Rick Rose is a regular contributor to LGBTSr, and the co-host with Mark McNease of The Twist Podcast.
Narration provided by WondervoxAI.