Incredibly, the US National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had to issue a statement in the last week confirming the non-existence of mermaids after Animal Planet aired “Mermaids: The Body Found” and a whole bunch of Americans thought it was real.

The show was apparently made to explore whether “a kernel of truth that lives beneath the legend of the mythic mermaid”. It was shot in a documentary type format, but is fictional (obviously, as mermaids do not exist) and, well, you can see for yourself quite clearly in the video above.

However, many Americans, unable to tell the difference, started asking the NOAA about the existence of mermaids. The agency said on its website: “Mermaids – those half-human, half-fish sirens of the sea – are legendary sea creatures chronicled in maritime cultures since time immemorial . . But are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.” So glad that was cleared up.

In a world with so much information so readily available, the mind boggles that people could believe that mermaids exist. Especially in the numbers that require a US government agency to release a statement. Agency spokeswoman Carol Kavanagh said the NOAA does not have a program dedicated to studying mermaids. Well, that’s a relief. One has to wonder if other agencies will be issuing statements on the non-existence of the unicorns, fairies and satyrs, talking animals, and other Disney characters. 

[Source: Business Standard]