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Fiji Mermaid

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Oddity

The Resume

    Once believed to be a mummified mermaid
    Actually the head and torso of a monkey sewn onto a fish tail
    Probably made in 1810 by a Japanese fisherman
    Exhibited by P.T. Barnum
    Allegedly destroyed when Barnum’s museum burned down in 1865

Why Fiji Mermaid might be annoying:

    It was supposedly captured in 1842 by a British scientist (in reality Barnum’s accomplice).
    It was falsely advertised as having the top half of a beautiful, bare chested woman.
    P.T. Barnum didn’t actually own it—he just rented it from another showman.
    It inspired hundreds of similar fake mermaid exhibits, including Robert Ripley's.

Why Fiji Mermaid might not be annoying:

    Not everyone was fooled: a Southern newspaper dismissed it as a ‘Yankee’ hoax.
    Similar mermaids were used in religious ceremonies in the Far East.
    Harvard University’s Peabody Museum claims to have the original exhibit.
    It appeared in a popular episode of 'The X-Files.'

Credit: Georgina


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 62 Votes: 51.61% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 88.89% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 28 Votes: 53.57% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 78.57% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 113 Votes: 52.21% Annoying