Written by Czarina
Modified & Updated: 01 Jun 2024
Reviewed by Sherman Smith
According to the World Atlas, 95% of the ocean floor remains undiscovered. Historically, mermaid sightings either are made by mistake or hoaxes created by man. The fish-tailed half-human creature continues to fascinate people all over the world. Some took their mermaid fascination to another level: by being a professional mermaid themselves! Did you know that the explorer Christopher Columbus mistook a manatee for a mermaid? Funnily enough, notorious pirate Blackbeard did all he could to avoid a mermaid encounter. Let’s dive deep into these 60 mystical mermaid facts!
- Ancient Syria recorded Atargatis as the earliest recorded mermaid in 1000 BC.
- There are four types of mermaids: traditional, Selkies, shape-shifters, and the Merfolk.
- They also possess four main powers: immortality, telepathy, hypnosis, and clairvoyance.
- Mermen came 7,000 years before Atagartis.
- The latest mermaid sighting happened in Israel in 2009.
- The term came from Old English words mere (of the sea) and maid (woman).
- A mermaid is female, while a merman is male.
- They are incredible beauties.
- Mermaids symbolize sin and seduction in the Middle Ages.
- Some cultures consider mermaids as bad omens.
- Merfolks are the best singers among the mermaids.
- A mermaid’s kiss can grant a man the ability to breathe underwater.
- Almost every continent has a version of its mermaid.
- A mermaid’s tail changes color depending on its mood.
- Mermaid sightings are usually just swimming manatees.
- The Starbucks logo features a two-tailed mermaid.
- Scandinavian mermaid myths inspired Hans Christian Andersen to write The Little Mermaid.
- The 2011 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides featured a realistic presentation of a mermaid.
- Mermaid: The Body Found documentary in 2012 renewed interest in mythological creatures.
- The Disney mermaid movie The Little Mermaid premiered in 1989.
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