Are Mermaids real? Are they Alien/Human Hybrids?

The ocean is both fascinating and terrifying. Although many underwater species have been located, we have no way of truly knowing what lurks beneath the murky surface, in the deepest caverns. Stories of sea-monsters date back thousands of years which both frighten and intrigue us. One of the often depicted creatures of the deep is the mermaid, which is believed to be half female human and half fish. Or is it? One possibility we could all be asking is, Are mermaids real? Are they Alien/Human Hybrids?

As a legendry creature, mermaids have appeared in folklore in many cultures around the world. The first stories of mermaids appeared in ancient Assyria. The goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for killing her lover. As such, mermaids can be depicted with perilous events such as floors, storms and drownings and in other traditions they can be benevolent or beneficent. Hans Christian Anderson's well-known fairy tale �The Little Mermaid� (written in 1836) is probably the most popular tale, but mermaids have been depicted throughout the arts in operas, paintings, books and films.

Two examples exist of 'modern mermaids'. Sirenia, which is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters and swamps. These include manatees and dugongs. Mariners in the mid-nineteenth century referred to them as mermaids. Also, sirenomelia, also called �mermaid syndrome� is a rare disease, affecting one out of every 100,000 live births, in which a child is born with his/her legs fused together. It is usually fatal with a very short time of birth because of kidney and bladder complications. This especially spurs the debate about mermaids.

In 1493 off the coast of Hispaniola, Christopher Columbus reported seeing three �female forms� rising out of the sea and the logbook of Blackbeared, the English pirate, records that he instructed his crew on several voyages to steer away from charted waters which he deemed �enchanted� for dear of mermaids (which he and members of his crew had reported seeing). More recently, in 2009 dozens of people reported seeing a mermaid leaping out of the water in the Israeli coastal town of Kiryat Yam and a $1 million reward was offered for proof of its existence. In 2012 workers on two reservoirs in Zimbabwe stopped work and refused to continue stating mermaids had hounded them away from the sites.

So, are mermaid legends more than just 'tails' or are mermaids merely the product of imagination spurred by the desire of some for dominion on both land and sea? What about taking into consideration the fact that mermaids could be... aliens? Taking into account the possibility of alien visitors to Earth over the last several thousands of years, it would stand to reason that some of the extraterrestrials could have been alien aquatic creatures rather than 2-footed �humanoids�. While we know very little about what the ocean holds and we know very little about alien life, there are so many possibilities.