There is no evidence that mermaids exist, a US government scientific agency has said.
The National Ocean Service made the unusual declaration in response to public inquiries following a TV show on the mythical creatures.
It is thought some viewers may have mistaken the programme for a documentary.
“No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found,” the service wrote in an online post.
The National Ocean Service posted an article last week on its educational website, Ocean Facts.
Thats facts that is.
Images and tales of mermaids - half-human, half-fish [The BBC feels the need to explain what a mermaid is] - appear in mythology and art from across the world and through history, from Homer’s Odyssey to the oral lore of the Australian aboriginals, the service wrote.
This does not make it true. Much the same could be said about dragons.
The article was written from publicly available sources because “we don’t have a mermaid science programme“, National Ocean Service spokeswoman Carol Kavanagh told the BBC.
They grabbed it from wikipedia then. That’s what “publicly available sources” means to me. The National Ocean Service which is a new one to me - it’s a part of the NOAA apparently which I do know about - has as it’s top featured article, “Positioning America for the Future”. That’s a lot of heavy lifting! Even with mermaids.
BTW the Islam Q&A “fatwa bank” did rule that mermaid was halal to eat. Alas that ruling seems to have disappeared. The one on the wonders of camel urine still stands mind.
From here.
Mermaids do exist.
in the land of Oz, they are the Transport Police, who weigh trucks.
they are known as mermaids because they are cunts with scales.
“There is no evidence that mermaids exist, a US government scientific agency has said.”
Not much science there. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. )
VftS,
Well technically yes. Practically no. It’s like the moon. Now you and I know it exists because we’ve seen it. Mermaids though… Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence might be technically true but I believe in penguins because I have seen them in zoos. I believe in barracuda and nurse sharks because I have swam with them. Indeed photographed them. Now if some geezer had dredged-up a mermaid we’d have known.
Playlet for the amusement of logicians.
Scene: Kitchen. Spouse “Muffin” is seen peering into refrigerator.
Muffin (calling, stage left): “Honey! There’s no butter in this fridge! Did you leave it out after the toast?”
Honey (calling back from stage left): “Muffin, the butter is in there. Look again.”
Muffin: “Darling, there is NO BUTTER IN HERE!”
Honey: “Oh for heaven’s sake…” mumbling and ambling into kitchen.
Muffin opens refrigerator door. There is nothing at all in there except racks and drawers. And air.
Muffin: “See? There is a complete and total absence of butter in this icebox! Your own eyes will tell you–there is NO EVIDENCE WHATEVER of butter!”
Honey: “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”
(Honey, speaking rather softly: “Except when it is, of course.”)
–The End—
Then there’s Mr. Holmes’ deduction based on the dog that did nothing in the nighttime*….
*In his memoir “Silver Blaze.” Included in /The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes/, which can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg at
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/834