For centuries, legends have warned of a mysterious half-human half-fish creature lurking beneath the waves. Sailors claimed to be hypnotized by their beauty. Deadly pirates have been frozen in fear over the very sight of them. And now, modern day sightings suggest, mermaids aren’t just myth – they’re real, they’re out there, and they’re rising to the surface.
Bust of Atargatis from the 3rd century CE. Courtesy of Capitoline Museums and Medium.com
Sculpture of Mami Wata from Nigeria in the 1950s. Courtesy of HistoryOfMermaids.com
Photo of the supposed Mermaid captured on the shores of Mayne Island in June 1967. Courtesy of Times Colonist
Screenshot of the supposed Mermaid captured in Kiryat Yam courtesy of Animal Planet and Aurora Borealis Facebook page
Episode Source Material
PODCASTS
WEB/SOCIAL MEDIA/MESSAGE BOARDS
- Are mermaids real? (website)
- Are mermaids real? (website).
- Are mermaids real? The long tail of a simple question. (website).
- Are mermaids real? The history and myths behind mermaid culture. (online article).
- 7 places to see real life mermaids. (online article).
- Unveiling the truth: are mermaids real? Discovering myth vs. reality. (online article).
- Are mermaids real? A look at mermaid myths across cultures. (online article).
- Top mermaid sightings in the last century that are hard to deny. (online article).
- What your favorite movie says about your personality and mindset. (online article).
- Basic chronology of the ancient world – fall semester. (website).
- Fairytales, myths, legend, and fantasy… the three most famous mermaids in history. (online article).
- The oracle of Atargatis. (blog post).
- Atargatis, the mermaid goddess by Judith Shaw. (blog post).
- Dreaming the dark: ‘Sedna,’ the siren, and the selkie (part 4). (blog post).
- Themes in Inuit art: Sedna. (website).
- Greece. (website).
- Columbus mistakes manatees for mermaids. (website).
- Columbus Day and its discontents. (online encyclopedia article).
- Pompions, monsters and ghosts in the golden age of piracy, part 6. (website).
- Who was Blackbeard? (website).
- John Smith. (online encyclopedia article.)
- The murky tale of John Smith and the mermaid. (online article).
- Guest post from Vaughn Schribner: “fabricating history: the curious case of John Smith, a green-haired mermaid, and Alexandre Dumas.” (blog post).
- History of hair coloring. (online article).
- Dugong. (website).
- Manatee factsheet. (website).
- Dave Obee: mysterious Mayne mermaid was real, sort of. (online article).
- NBC: Kiryat Yam mermaid might be real. (online article).
- Mermaid sighting in Kiryat Yam,Israel. (YouTube video).
- NBC making film about Kiryat Yam. (online article).
- How much of the ocean is explored and why we’re just scratching the surface. (online article).
- One fish, two fish: estimating undiscovered species. (online article).
- Sedna’s tale, a feminist story. (blog post).
- Sirens of Greek myth were bird-women, not mermaids. (online article).
- Not everything you learned about Christopher Columbus is true. (online article).
- Ten things you need to know about Blackbeard the pirate. (website).
- Captain John Smith. (website).
- Aquatic ape hypothesis. (Wikipedia article).
- Elaine Morgan and the aquatic ape. (online article).