Thought Of As A Mermaid, This Strange ‘Half Mammal Half Fish’ Creature Has Baffled Many

#1 The Fiji Mermaid was popularized by P.T. Barnum of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey.

#2 Near Feejee islands in the South Pacific mermaid was caught.

#3 Strange creature might give you sleepless nights.

#4 Reality is Fiji Mermaid was only an upper body of a monkey sewn to a fish tail and it was first made by Pacific fishermen.

#5 Samuel Barrett Edes in 1822 sold first Fiji Mermaid for $6,000.

Edes exhibited it in London for years until he died. Edes' son sold it to a man named Moses Kimball, then Kimball showed it to P.T. Barnum

#6 Barnum knew that the creature was a hoax, but he insist on including it in his museum and called it 'The Feejee Mermaid.'

#7 Barnum purchased an exclusive rights to display for $12.50 per week.

#8 He traveled city to city creating a publicity stunt with the fake doctor.

#9 But Barnum’s original exhibit disappeared several years ago when his museum burned down multiple times in 1860.

However, many are still created everyday even to this date.