Superstition or wishful pondering may trick you into pondering you noticed one in all these legendary creatures. AP Picture/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

Curious Youngsters is a sequence for kids of all ages. If in case you have a query you’d like an skilled to reply, ship it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Are mermaids actual? – Verona, age 9, Owensboro, Kentucky

Mermaids – underwater creatures which might be half fish and half human – don’t exist besides in individuals’s imaginations. Scientists who examine the ocean for the US have investigated their potential existence and say no proof of mermaids has ever been discovered.

You would possibly marvel why authorities scientists seemed into this query. There are various tales about mermaids on TV, the web and in magazines that faux to be actual science information. They attempt to idiot individuals into believing mermaids are actual, with none true proof. That is known as “cryptoscience” or “cryptozoology,” however it’s not actual science. Don’t let intriguing tales deceive you about mermaids and different enjoyable however made-up creatures, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

However simply because mermaids usually are not actual doesn’t imply they aren’t significant. Mermaids, or merfolk as they’re generally known as as a result of not all of them are feminine, have an extended historical past and are identified all around the world – the identical means dragons, fairies and unicorns are.

A couple of type of mermaid

A number of the earliest mermaid tales are a part of historic Greek mythology from over 3,000 years in the past. The Greeks imagined plenty of creatures that have been half human and half animal, like harpies (chook and human) and centaurs (horse and human).

Typically their mermaids have been good, just like the Greek goddess Atargatis, who protected people, however others have been harmful, just like the Sirens, who sang lovely songs that made sailors crash their ships into rocks and sink. Irish mermaids, known as “merrows,” which date again 1,000 years, have been additionally thought-about an indication of unhealthy luck.

A two-tailed mermaid from Padua, Italy, made within the first half of the 16th century.

Sepia Instances/Common Photographs Group by way of Getty Photographs

Mermaid our bodies have been imagined otherwise somewhere else. There’s a legendary Japanese mermaid known as a “ningyo,” which is usually a fish, however has a human face. Possibly you’ve seen the animated movie “Ponyo,” a couple of goldfish with a bit of woman’s face? In Europe, there have been mermaids known as “melusines” who had two fish tails.

Tales about mermaids additionally different relying on the place and once they have been advised. Just some are about mermaids falling in love and eager to be human, like Ariel and Ponyo. Within the storybook “Mermaids From Mars,” for example, mermaids have used up all of the water on Mars and are available to Earth to assist individuals be taught the lesson of water conservation.

In plenty of locations, mermaids have been used as symbols of energy and wealth. For instance, town of Warsaw in Poland has a legend of a mermaid who is taken into account to be the protector of town. There’s an enormous statue of her there, and she or he is even featured on town’s coat of arms. Many castles in Europe even have mermaid symbols to reveal royal energy and wealth – even in international locations with no oceans, like Austria.

Why mermaids?

You could marvel how mermaids got here to be. Why did so many individuals around the globe think about them all through historical past? It’s an attention-grabbing query that in all probability has multiple reply.

A Danish Viking ship below assault by mermaids, circa 1200.

Picture by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG by way of Getty Photographs

Superstitious sailors, together with Christopher Columbus and others, reported seeing mermaids on their travels, however scientists and historians assume they in all probability noticed actual animals, like manatees or seals.

All through time, individuals have usually created tales to assist clarify every kind of issues they couldn’t perceive on the time. Tales additionally assist individuals perceive their very own goals, needs and fears.

Regardless of the causes, individuals nonetheless clearly love mermaids. You should purchase mermaid dolls, coloring books and costumes. You’ll find them on flags, cash and Starbucks espresso. At some aquariums and water parks, actual individuals carry out as mermaids and need to apply holding their breath and protecting their eyes open underwater for a very long time. There’s even a model of cotton sweet known as “Mermaid Farts,” which is described as “candy and fluffy!”

Regardless that mermaids usually are not actually actual, they’ll feed your creativeness and creativity. Mermaids are additionally necessary as a result of they’re a shared concept that has linked individuals collectively around the globe for a really very long time.

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Peter Goggin doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that may profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.