The Real Mermaids: Captured on Camera

When someone mentions a mermaid, what pops into your head? Probably the classic, beautiful image we all know from stories and movies. But honestly, if mermaids do exist, wouldn’t they be more like, well, a fish? Think about it: kind of nasty, scaly, maybe slimy, and a little slippery. Their hair wouldn’t exactly be flowing and perfect, not after soaking in saltwater forever!

Mermaids have captured imaginations for centuries. Almost every culture worldwide seems to have a similar figure in its folklore. They all have comparable descriptions, but the big question remains: are they real? Skeptics are everywhere, of course, but there are also those who truly believe. Let’s dive into some of the most fascinating mermaid sighting reports from around the globe.

Famous Explorers and Fin-Tastic Sightings

Even Christopher Columbus, yes, that Christopher Columbus, reported seeing mermaids while he was sailing. He had this to say: “They were not as beautiful as they are painted, although to some extent they have a human appearance in the face.”

Now, there’s a popular theory that sailors, after months at sea, mistook manatees for mermaids. Personally, I don’t buy that theory. Have you ever actually seen a manatee? Seriously, how much rum do you have to drink for a manatee to look like a mermaid? I just don’t see it!

Another very credible source is Henry Hudson, the explorer who discovered the Hudson River. He recorded seeing what he believed was a real mermaid near Russia. He wrote in his log that two crew members, Thomas Hilles and Robert Rayner, sighted a mermaid at $75^{\circ}$ 7’ North and called the rest of the crew to come and look. Hudson further recorded that the creature had the tail of a dolphin and was speckled like a mackerel.

Wartime Reports and Modern Witnesses

During World War II, in 1943, several mermaids were reportedly spotted by Japanese soldiers on the shores of the Kei Islands in Indonesia. They claimed to have seen them swimming in the water and even one on the beach. The one sighted on the beach was described as being about four feet nine inches tall, with pinkish skin, a human-looking face and limbs, spikes along its head, and a mouth like a carp.

A Japanese sergeant, Taro Horiba, became a believer after he heard news of a dead mermaid washing ashore and went to examine it with his own eyes. When he returned to Japan, he actually urged scientists there to go and study such mermaids. Can you imagine? A soldier comes back from war, and the first thing he says is, “Hey, I saw a mermaid! Go look into that!” Predictably, no research was done because they assumed he was a bit out of it.

More recently, a sighting occurred when tourists on a ferry saw a woman with the tail of a dolphin. She was described as having beautiful blonde hair and was reportedly seen eating a salmon. This story was reported in The Times newspaper and got a lot of attention, but no one has seen that mermaid since. If that report was true, it suggests mermaids can actually have beautiful, flowy hair underwater, maybe I was wrong! Perhaps they sneak in a bunch of shampoo and drag it down to the depths. And apparently, they like sushi.

But here’s what’s a little disturbing about that story. Let me know if you disagree, but I find it kind of morbid that a half-fish being is munching on another fish. I mean, I get that big fish eat little fish, but isn’t there something a little cannibalistic about the whole thing?

Mysterious Remains and Dam Delays

About 30% of the remains of an unknown, human-like creature were allegedly found in the belly of a dead great white shark in southern Africa. The body was examined and reportedly determined to have hands and a humanoid skull. A barb was left jammed in the shark’s jaws, which some claimed was a mermaid’s weapon. Though let’s be real, everyone knows mermaids use tridents!

Now, this next story is actually kind of funny. Mermaids have been sighted on a number of occasions in Zimbabwe. They actually claimed that efforts to complete the building of dams were delayed by mermaids! Apparently, mermaids harassed construction workers when they were trying to install water pumps. What were they doing? Making cat calls? Splashing water on the workers with their tails?

Minister Enock J. Nkala was reported as saying in the state-approved Herald newspaper that “the officers I have sent have vowed not to go back there. We even hired whites, thinking that our boys did not want to work, but they also returned saying they would not return to work there again.”

The Million-Dollar Question

If you believe in mermaids and want to make some money, here is the perfect gig. In Kiryat Yam, this is the only place in the world where a $1 million reward is up for grabs for the first person who can provide conclusive footage capturing a real mermaid. This isn’t given by some local organization; it’s a government-sanctioned reward because there have been numerous sightings there. Allegedly, a mermaid appears sometimes at sunset.

Do I Believe?

So, here’s the deal with me: Do I believe mermaids exist? I want to say yes. Why? Because here’s the thing: 95% of the world’s waters, the oceans, rivers, everything, are unexplored. We genuinely don’t know what’s down there. Can you definitively tell me that mermaids don’t exist? How would you know? We haven’t explored most of it! There could be mermaids, the Loch Ness monster, maybe even mermaids hanging out with the Loch Ness monster, who knows? There could be a whole civilization of mermaids underwater. Just because we haven’t seen it, can we discount it? I don’t think so.

Also, think about this: Throughout history, civilizations all around the world have had tales of mermaids, and they all describe them in similar ways. This was a time when cultures had absolutely no communication with each other. It’s not like in 100 BC, China was holding a “Mermaid Con” where everyone dressed up as a mermaid! So, how did they all come up with the same concept?

That’s something to think about.