Mermaids: Real or Legend?

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There are many legends about mermaids, but does anyone believe in any of them? Most people are skeptical, but there are some people who truly believe that they exist. Mermaids are said to have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. They are also said to have been circulating the oceans as far back as 5,000 B.C. ("Unknown Explorers - Mermaids") Mermaids probably do not exist because there is not enough evidence that they do exist.
One of the biggest questions asked about mermaids is if they actually exist. Most people will say no, some people will say yes, and some will say it’s possible. Another common question asked about mermaids is usually where they live and what they do. How did they come about? What do they look like? Can they talk, or do they make noises? Mermaids are popularly talked about but not popularly believed in.
Do mermaids exist or not? Mermaid sightings have been reported as early as 586 A.D. A great historian named Pliny the Elder was convinced of the existence of mermaids and described them as “rough and scaled all over.” Thousands of sailors across the globe have reported seeing mermaids swimming off the bows of their ships. Even Christopher Columbus reported an encounter with a mermaid; in January of 1493 Columbus reported that he saw three mermaids frolicking in the ocean just off Haiti. ( "Unknown Explorers - Mermaids") Columbus stated that the creatures “came high out of the water” but were “not as pretty as they are depicted, for somehow the face looked more like a man’s.” ( "Unknown Explorers - Mermaids") What he saw could have easily been a type of animal he did not recognize.
There have been many recent mermaid sightings that have left everyone wondering. Is it fake, i...

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... legends are probably just myths but we may never know.
There is really no evidence that mermaids exist so they probably do not. Anyone can choose what they want to believe about mermaids but without actual proof of anything that anyone has seen, it is hard to believe anything. Pictures and videos can be easily altered so people never know if they are seeing what truly happened. If mermaids do exist, they have probably been hiding themselves for a reason. If mermaids do exist, they have surely done a great job concealing it.

Works Cited
"Essay - Mermaids." Essay - Mermaids. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"Mermaid." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"Unknown Explorers - Mermaids." Unknown Explorers - Mermaids. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Myths and Legends." Origins of A Mermaid and a Magic Comb. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

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