Mermaids and Giant Squids

Babylonians- Worshiped a Sea God names Oannes
who was a merman with a human upper body and
fish lower body. He supposedly taught man about
art and science.

Japan and China- Believed in not only mermaids
but also in sea dragons. Their mermaid was a fish
with only a human head.

Greek and Roman- Poseiden, Neptune and Triton
(Sea Gods)* were depicted as mermen.

Shetlands (British Isles)- Believed that mermaids
could shed their animal skins and walk on land as
humans.

Russia- Believes (or used to) in a water nymph that
used to drown swimmers. **

Africa- Believed in a river witch that was also a
bother. **

Most cultures did not fear mermaids, and instead
looked forward to seeing them. Sometimes it was
said that a mermaid would warn a sailor of impending
doom.

There are several cases of mistaken identity when
dealing with mermaids. Often they are confused
with Sirens *** which would sing or play musical
instruments and lure sailors to their deaths.

Sightings of mermaids occurred mostly in the
1800's. Descriptions vary, but the most constant
goes as follows...

Mermaids were well tanned (though quite often
were said to be fair) in color, and usually less than 4
feet long. The bodies above the waist were
perfectly formed as that of an adult woman, and the
hair was very long and darkly colored. Most had
blue eyes. The fish part below the navel was that
of a large salmon, grayish in color and without
scales. Mermen were much the same if not a bit
larger. They had powerfully built upper bodies with
greenish-black hair. When captured, they were
calm and patient. There are several reports though
of them either being unwilling or unable to speak.

* I decided not to run through the myths of each of these
characters because I though that it detracted from the theme
of the story, and I wanted only to show the mermaid
connection.

** I have to admit that I don't know much about the negative
stories of mermaids. I was unable to find much about sea
witches or otherwise, so if you know anything, or where I
could find more information about this topic, please let me
know!

*** Sirens are described as being half human and half bird
rather than looking like the traditional mermaid.

Less than five years ago, the world had never
captured a live giant squid and kept it alive. But if
you've watched the Discovery Channel, then you
know that several baby Giant Squids were found
and contained. Now scientists can learn more
about them, and slowly, the Giant Squid will lose
its monster status.

But what do we know about them now? It's name
is Architeuthis, and it can possibly grow up to 100
feet long (tail to tentacle tips). It has a long
torpedo shaped body. Surrounding its beak like
mouth are 5 pairs of arms, 2 being longer than the
rest and covered in suckers. This is how the squid
catches its food. Their eyes are the largest in the
animal kingdom.

A Giant Squid's beak is strong enough to bite
through steel cable, and it eats even very large
animals. One thing that we know they eat often
are whales. They've attacked baby whales, and 40
ton Sperm Whales. Squids are very aggressive and
will attack whales successfully. They wrap their
tentacles around the whale, and hold it under
water to drown it. Giant Squids have also been
known to mistake a large ship for a whale and
attack it.

Where do they live? Lucky for us, they live in the
very cold and dark waters of the ocean bottom.
They actually can't live in warmer water. Not only
will it suffocate them, but it affects their
buoyancy, and once at the surface, it is hard to
get back down.

So really, Giant Squids do not belong in the
Monsters section, because they are not shrouded
in myth anymore. But anything that has an eye
larger than my head is a monster to me!

Mermaids were not
always considered to be
imaginary, mythical
creatures. There was a
time when even scientists
believed in their
existence, and ancient
people believed that they
were Gods.

Many cultures believed in
mermaid deities. Here are
a few examples...

Not too long ago,
Giant Squids were
considered to be
mythical creatures. It
shared company with
other sea monsters
such as Nessie,
Ogopogo, and well,
Jaws. But now we
know that Giant
Squids are real, and
they are in our oceans
right now.

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