Comments on: Mark A. Hall: Did Sea Cows Fuel Mermaid Mythology?

By: Stephen Penton

Stephen Penton — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 09:55:04 +0000

well all people were amazed when they disovered that a giant squid was a real creature and nolonger a myth. and they live so far under the water that no submarin can go deep enough to come close (say the one from 20K leagues) so f humans evolved from a fish that went amphiban to retiale to mamle then maby our cusin fish stayed under water and evolved so they still had the fish parts but inteligence of a human and probly a body similare to ours even though i would say it would be more like the meres from Harry potter goblet of fire

By: EdwardHowland

EdwardHowland — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 06:08:45 +0000

It just goes to show that to a sailor after weeks at sea, even a manatee looks good.

By: WARENDPC

WARENDPC — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:51:50 +0000

If you want to see what mermaids really
look like, in their most alluring poses
visit http://www.radianceweb.com/cseries.html

By: Atsawin

Atsawin — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:27:55 +0000

comicbookhero, that was lame, man.

But seriously, sea cows? Greek tradition (I am Greek-American), states that Alexander the Great’s half-sister by Olympia was a mermaid.

I seriously doubt they meant a sea cow…

By: comicbookhero

comicbookhero — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:18:32 +0000

I just have a few things to say about this whole business. Mermaids are real, they are as real as you and I. I know this for a fact, how do I know this you may ask? I was involved in a very, very bad boating accident 10 years ago, off the coast of the southern (Caribbean) side of Puerto Rico. We were attacked by the pirate ship Black Pearl, and I was rescued by a group of mermaids that nursed me back to health. hahahah got ya.

By: Marlantis Buzz

Marlantis Buzz — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:35:13 +0000

If I may…my first thought is the description sounds like that of the Green Lady, known in the old folk lore to appear at times to warn of an upcoming hurricane(s). Right area.

By: Benjamin Radford

Benjamin Radford — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 15:24:49 +0000

I second the notion that we should take Smith’s account with a grain of salt. Having researched lake monsters and other creatures, I’m continually finding mystery-mongering writers (I’m not talking about Hall or anyone in particular) who will uncritically repeat any wild claim of strange sightings (especially ones before the 20th century) as if their veracity were clear and uncontested.

Even newspaper accounts of “real” sighting were often hoaxes or fabrications— see John Green’s exposure of the Bigfoot “Jacko” incident for an example.

The mermaid discussion reminded me of a song on the band Great Big Sea’s latest CD called The Mermaid. The band is from Newfoundland, and sing many traditional sea songs: this one tells of a lonely sailor who finds a mermaid, and says, “I love the girl with all me heart / But I only like the upper part / I do not like the tail!”

By: Batgirl

Batgirl — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 14:36:37 +0000

I strongly suggest that researchers STOP trying to fit the mermaid mold into something that is known, like a manatee. That is all science does these days…force something into the wrong place. Mermaids go back as far as sumeria. Almost every culture has a fish-like God. Hey, even JESUS was associated with fish. The Merovingian kings believed they descended from a fishman. The Dogons worshipped fish gods. Cybele, Poseidon and countless other Gods are considered aquatic. So maybe the whole mermaid myth is more of a legend of a time when aquatic beings walked the earth. It would explain a lot in regards to cultures proclaiming to have been reared by Gods from the sea.

By: DrX

DrX — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 02:07:41 +0000

John Smith’s veracity was the topic of questions, satire, and outright denunciations, even by his own contemporaries. Biographer Thomas Fuller wrote that “it soundeth much to the diminution of [Smith's] deeds, that he alone is the herald to publish and proclaim them.” Historian Samuel Eliot Morison decided Smith was “a thoroughly cheerful and generally harmless liar.” Another historian, Albert Bushnell Hart, called Smith one of the “great American historical liars”. It’s generally agreed that Smith’s writings are full of self-aggrandisement, boasting, and falsehoods. I think you should research him and see for yourself.

By: 2400bc

2400bc — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:05:46 +0000

I may be wrong but don’t sea captains only put important entries into their logs? Were these tall tales spoken of found in his logs along with the mermaid sighting, or were they in other, more casual writings? Can anyone clear this up for me? I think it would bear on the credibility of the report.