He called the mermaids special “another bit of noxious rot in…television’s bottomless chum bucket.” A brief, vague disclaimer at the end of the credits admitted “certain events in this film are fictional,” but as Switek argued, “it’s not surprising that some viewers were confused about what they were actually seeing.” 1 If you dress up a science fiction program to look exactly like a documentary and then play it on a documentary channel, what else can you expect but confusion? “The show was meant to titillate and deceive” raged science writer Brian Switek. Subscribe today in print or digital formats!īut mislead, it did. Ten-page illustrated Junior Skeptic stories are bound within each quarterly issue of SKEPTIC MAGAZINE. Few viewers expect Animal Planet to mislead them with fake facts. After all, Animal Planet is supposed to be a channel where people learn about real animals. This was upsetting to some science writers and marine biologists. The mermaids special was so convincing that many people who saw the show were fooled into thinking mermaids were real. On-screen text at the beginning of the show told audiences, “The scientists in this film are speaking on camera for the first time,” but those “scientists” were really actors. The “evidence” for mermaids that was presented in the show was invented by script-writers and special effects artists. Mermaids: The Body Found looked and felt like a documentary, but it was actually a work of make-believe. He wasn’t even a real person, but an invented television character. Paul Robertson” was not a scientist at all. Paul Robertson seemed impossible to ignore. In particular, the sincerity radiating from NOAA scientist Dr. There was even a camera-phone video of a living mermaid stranded on an American beach! From the deep-voiced narrator to the compelling personal testimony, the show hammered home the unbelievable message that mermaids exist after all. The on-screen scientists said they found the gruesome remains of a mer-person inside the stomach of a large shark. Not only are mermaids real, claimed the program, but they are an evolutionary offshoot of the human family tree!Ĭould that be right? It certainly seemed like it. government scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) looked straight into the camera and told the public about incredible evidence for the existence of mermaids. Three and a half million viewers watched in astonishment as people identified as U.S. Then, in 2012, the Animal Planet television channel aired a documentary-style program called Mermaids: The Body Found. But people in the United States and other industrialized countries generally think of mermaids as completely imaginary fantasy creatures like dragons, gremlins, or leprechauns. Monster hunters have remained interested in mermaid-like creatures such as the Ri, and mermaid sightings are still sometimes reported in countries in Africa and elsewhere around the world. We can not go on dismissing the evidence that's before our very eyes.Junior Skeptic 48 cover. Anyone who watches this program will certainly be convinced of the truth and perhaps action will at last be taken on behalf of our innocent earthly cohabitants. Someday what is happening will be accepted as fact and the shame of what we have allowed will weigh heavily on our souls. It seems likely there would be an outcry if Americans were aware of the Navy's destructive practices and protection for this species would be demanded. Navy's sonic weapon testing, which threatens to destroy this magnificent population, is a higher priority than the preservation of a living wonder. However, after some study one has to wonder if the U.S. It is an outrage that the government somehow believes that we as a people can't handle the revelation that we share our oceans with these harmless, human-like sea creatures. Their integrity is certainly without question based upon their credentials and passion. The experts interviewed have risked their careers to speak out because they believe in the truth, transparency, and the value of a living being. This is the most powerful evidence of the actual existence of these poor creatures ever presented to the public. The video revealed in this program is both shocking and overwhelming. To say this documentary is persuasive is a gargantuan understatement.