https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo Debating Fact and Myth en-us 2016-11-24 17:09:43 UTC 2025-12-21 12:43:02 UTC hello@padlet.com jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797195 This video shows a supposed sighting of a group of mermaids swimming in the ocean. However, it is actually footage of a stampede of dolphins. I believe this is a case of emotional connection. Someone found this video, where it was posted with the title 'dolphins' on a dolphin Youtube channel, yet they convinced themselves that these creatures were actually mermaids. Yes, from the video, it does look like they could be mermaids. But as the video states, it is easily explained by the dolphin's fins. No skeptic would have seen this video titled 'dolphins' and believed that they were mermaids. This was someone who believes in mermaids seeing what they want to see. ]]> 2016-11-24 17:36:45 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797195 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797242 2016-11-24 17:37:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797242 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797266 2016-11-24 17:37:26 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797266 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797293 2016-11-24 17:37:42 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797293 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797315 There are many diagrams with an artist's interpretation of what a mermaid's skeleton might look like. It is important to realize that it is just art and not science. Just because some bones look like they could connect does not mean that the nervous system and everything else would match up, or any life dependant activities could still work.]]> 2016-11-24 17:37:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797315 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797348 2016-11-24 17:38:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797348 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797368 2016-11-24 17:38:26 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797368 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797415 2016-11-24 17:38:50 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797415 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797508 2016-11-24 17:39:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797508 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797529 2016-11-24 17:39:42 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797529 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797572 2016-11-24 17:40:12 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797572 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797618 2016-11-24 17:40:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797618 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797654 2016-11-24 17:41:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797654 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797706 Mermaids are one of the most popular fantasy beings for artwork. People respond to it. Artwork is just another form of escaping reality. So many people are interested in the ocean. They know that most of it is undiscovered, which makes it all the more plausible that a mythological creature could be residing in the depths of the sea. From an artist's standpoint, it is difficult to merge different animals bodies together in a convincing way. Water can also be very difficult to depict. But you also have so much freedom. There are so many myths and they go in so many directions. There have been so many stories and movies that you could manipulate this vague concept of a creature into almost anything. Art and modern literature are our societies way of keeping the myth (and therefore, the belief), alive. ]]> 2016-11-24 17:41:26 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797706 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797759 2016-11-24 17:41:46 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797759 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797806 Artwork of mermaids and sirens exist all throughout history. They exist in pages like these of literature books, to pottery, to murals, to ancient sculptures, to paintings, modern art and logos. Images and perceptions get distorted as time goes on. Artwork is probably the main reason for so many false sightings. ]]> 2016-11-24 17:42:05 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139797806 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139798544 This website sources the first documentations of sirens in ancient literature, going back to 1CE. Most stories are just the same stories that have always been told since the beginning of time, recycled and renewed. These are the first time stories of mermaids have been documented, but we keep seeming to come back to mermaids. It seems to be one of the more popular story tropes throughout history. This is very dangerous, as sometimes we confuse stories having been around for a very long time with stories having some truthful foundations. ]]> 2016-11-24 17:48:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/139798544 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140241989 This is a video of a 'mermaid sighting' published by animal planet. When first watching the video, it looks pretty realistic. The camera was not of the best quality, and they were so far from the mermaid that it technically could have just been a person in a mermaid tail. But the scenario seemed pretty realistic. I found it more believable than other sighting videos I saw as there wasn't a whole crazy conspiracy theory attached, and it wasn't so in your face. There was no CGI or gore. If a mermaid sighting were to actually happen, this is probably what it would look like. But then I looked further into the video, and found this website. I found a natgeo video and other pieces of proof that I was originally going to include into this project until I found out that they were all posted by animal planet. Animal Planet was producing a documentary on mermaids. Researching the documentary, I found out that it was actually fake. Animal Planet called it a "docudrama." The US government actually had to release a public statement saying that mermaids were not actually real, as people were going crazy. It's amazing how just because something is in a documentary, even if there is a written credit saying that it was fake and just a look of what it MIGHT be like if mermaids were real, people will still believe it. It comes from a pretty reliable source, it is conducted professionally, and is put on TV, so it must be true, right? I can no longer use any of these in an argument towards mermaid existence because Animal Planet has a monetary motive for posting all of these videos, which make them less credible. ]]> 2016-11-28 16:43:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140241989 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140270406 Mermaids exist in almost every mythology and culture around the world. They vary in stories and appearances so much that even though there have been sightings going back hundreds of years, it's still not a good indication that mermaids actually exist. ]]> 2016-11-28 17:53:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140270406 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140275721 This website is a list of reasons why mermaids could not physically exist- or if they did, that would actually look similar to manatees and not like the idealized beautiful maidens we have pictured through our lives. This website actually has the credentials of the author, details from her career and education, rather than the other websites which just used appeal of authority by saying the vague title 'scientists'. She talks about real applicable issues that if you are blinded by your wanting to believe, you might never have thought about, such as temperature, excretion of waste, and reproduction. She uses numbers, graphs, and actual scientific facts to back up her story, rather than theories and stretches of the imagination. ]]> 2016-11-28 18:08:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140275721 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140280685 This article explains what exactly was happening when sailors and pirates used to report seeing mermaids at sea. It is a perfect example of how we have to put our belief in scientific facts and statistics instead of our own perceptions of the world, which obviously can be misleading. We know now that the sightings can be chalked up to mirages, sea sickness, and scurvy. Who knows what people will have to explain what we are actually seeing years in the future?]]> 2016-11-28 18:20:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140280685 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140287227 This video explains the overview of the Aquatic Ape Theory, the theory that apes went through an aquatic stage during evolution. There is the argument that while we evolved from this stage, some creatures stayed in the water and are our modern day 'mermaids'. This theory has been disproved many times but apparently answers many questions that we still have about our evolution. It's easy to believe something like this because many people do not have the scientific knowledge to explain why exactly it wouldn't be plausible. Yes, this theory makes sense when laid out like this, but there might be other reasons to explain these things. Still, there are holes. There are still many answers that are not explained, as brought up in the 'Fishful Thinking' website like; how do they repopulate or excrete waste? I think one of the main reasons that this is believed so much is that the original idea came from a scientist; appealing to authority.]]> 2016-11-28 18:33:51 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140287227 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140317099 This website tells the Greek origins of the myth of sirens. Myths are a funny thing, because some myths are seen just as stories and it is never questioned, while other myths are believed to be real. Both myths are written in the same way by the same people, yet people connect with some myths more than others and believe those to be true. When you've connected to something and have convinced yourself that is true, it is very hard to change that belief. ]]> 2016-11-28 19:41:47 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140317099 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140318564 The translation of a song inspired by the legend of Lorelei, a maiden who threw herself over a cliff in despair of an unfaithful lover. She is said to have stayed there, on the cliff, singing and luring sailors to their death for the rest of her days. There is actually a cliff named Lorelei, and it overlooks the most narrow and deep part of the ravine. But people have been blaming the siren Lorelei for all of the deaths that have occurred there. ]]> 2016-11-28 19:45:36 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140318564 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140345917 2016-11-28 21:21:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140345917 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140346121 2016-11-28 21:22:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140346121 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140346330 2016-11-28 21:23:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140346330 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140346487 2016-11-28 21:24:02 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140346487 jennabarnes https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140349619 2016-11-28 21:40:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jennabarnes/hc1d9k1mvjyo/wish/140349619