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BY ELIZABETH RINEHART
If you were hoping on catching a glimpse of Ariel anytime in the future, we’re sorry
to say that the U.S. government might have put a damper on your plans. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, wrote this on its website.
“Are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.”
The release of these findings comes just weeks after the CDC announced that zombies weren’t
real after a man tried to eat another man’s face in Miami.
Why the mermaid announcement now? MSNBC explains.
“The timing of the post seems to coincide with the Animal Planet show ‘Mermaids: The
Body Found,’ which came out at the end of May and explored whether there is ‘a kernel
of truth that lives beneath the legend of the mythic mermaid,’ according to the show's
description.”
That two-hour Animal Planet special included this very realistic-looking “proof”--
apparently taken using a camera phone in 2004.
Even the program’s creator wasn’t convinced. He tells The Huffington Post...
“‘This is meant for entertainment … We didn't submit this for peer review.’”
BBC talked to a NOAA spokesperson, who admits the research was not necessarily scientific.
“The article was written from publicly available sources because ‘we don't have a mermaid
science programme...’”