# Chosen Topics: 5 Most Interesting Mermaid Facts

## 1. The First Mermaid: Atargatis of Assyria (1000 BC)
The goddess Atargatis fell in love with a human shepherd but accidentally killed him. Consumed by shame, she threw herself into a lake intending to become a fish, but her divine beauty was so great that she could only transform halfway - becoming the first mermaid.

## 2. Alexander the Great's Sister Became a Mermaid
Greek legend claims Alexander the Great's sister Thessalonike became a mermaid after death. She would stop every passing ship to ask: "Is King Alexander alive?" The only safe answer was: "He lives and reigns and conquers the world." Any other response would send her into a rage, causing deadly storms.

## 3. Japanese Mermaids Grant Immortality (But They're Horrifying)
Unlike beautiful Western mermaids, Japanese ningyo are monstrous - just a human head attached directly to a fish body with no human torso. However, eating their flesh was believed to grant immortality.

## 4. P.T. Barnum's "Feejee Mermaid" Scandal
In 1842, P.T. Barnum distributed 10,000 pamphlets showing beautiful, seductive mermaids. What audiences actually saw was a juvenile monkey's head sewn onto the back half of a fish - described as "an ugly dried-up, black-looking diminutive specimen" that appeared to have "died in great agony."

## 5. Columbus Saw "Mermaids" That Were Actually Manatees
In 1493, Columbus recorded seeing mermaids off Haiti, noting they were "not as beautiful as they are painted." He was actually looking at manatees - whose scientific order is literally named "Sirenia" after the mythical sirens.
