Mermaids

The Fiji Mermaid (aka Feejee mermaid)

This artifact was a common slideshow attraction in P.T. Barnum's (yup the circus guy) museum. She was advertised as a gorgeous topless siren, but was actually the mummified corpse of an ape sewn to a fish - a really "grotesque" take on the mermaid and sirens of sea stories.

Here's the Banff Merman!

Mermaids are something that we are still fascinated by. People often mistake sunbathing seals and other animals to be mermaids. And some people even suffer from Mermaid Syndrome (aka sirenomelia) where their legs are fused together to due a rare congenital deformity, like this little girl from Peru.

Remains of mermaids were highly treasured and during the Renaissance, they were often found in cabinets of curiosities.

The Fifi mermaid is now in the attic at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.