This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kowloonese (talk | contribs) at 03:55, 22 February 2004 (typo). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 03:55, 22 February 2004 by Kowloonese (talk | contribs) (typo)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
A mermaid is a legendary creature with a female human head and torso (if it's male, it's called a merman) and the tail of a fish, which inhabits the water. Some sailors claim to have seen mermaids; what they actually saw are probably manatees. A freshwater mermaid-like creature having two tails is a melusine, or a Nixie.
In heraldry, the charge of a mermaid is commonly represented with a comb and a mirror, and blazoned as a 'mermaid in her vanity.'
In the 19th century, P. T. Barnum displayed in his museum a taxidermy hoax that was represented as the Feejee (sic) Mermaid.
Mermaids are present in many movies, books, etc., and have become one of the most popular creatures of Pop Culture. The first time a mermaid was envisioned within her own culture was apparently the one in Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, which was embodied in a bronze sculpture in Copenhagen harbor and much later was turned into a Disney movie. Another popular movie to feature a mermaid was Splash, starring Daryl Hannah. Mermaids and Mermen (called Merpeople) are present in the Harry Potter series, specifically in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.