1493 : Columbus mistakes manatees for mermaids
On this day in 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing
near the Dominican Republic, sees three "mermaids"--in reality
manatees--and describes them as "not half as beautiful as they are
painted." Six months earlier, Columbus (1451-1506) set off from Spain
across the Atlantic Ocean with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, hoping
to find a western trade route to Asia. Instead, his voyage, the first
of four he would make, led him to the Americas, or "New World."
Mermaids, mythical half-female, half-fish creatures, have existed in
seafaring cultures at least since the time of the ancient Greeks.
Typically depicted as having a woman's head and torso, a fishtail
instead of legs and holding a mirror and comb, mermaids live in the
ocean and, according to some legends, can take on a human shape and
marry mortal men. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another
folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing
seductive songs to lure sailors to their deaths.
Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren't made up, were most
likely manatees, dugongs or Steller's sea cows (which became extinct
by the 1760s due to over-hunting). Manatees are slow-moving aquatic
mammals with human-like eyes, bulbous faces and paddle-like tails. It
is likely that manatees evolved from an ancestor they share with the
elephant. The three species of manatee (West Indian, West African and
Amazonian) and one species of dugong belong to the Sirenia order. As
adults, they're typically 10 to 12 feet long and weigh 800 to 1,200
pounds. They're plant-eaters, have a slow metabolism and can only
survive in warm water.
Manatees live an average of 50 to 60 years in the wild and have no
natural predators. However, they are an endangered species. In the
U.S., the majority of manatees are found in Florida, where scores of
them die or are injured each year due to collisions with boats.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1493 : Columbus mistakes manatees for mermaids
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52319
1768 : First modern circus is staged
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6771
1806 : Nelson buried at St. Paul's Cathedral
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4662
1972 : Queen Elizabeth destroyed by fire
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4663
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On this day in 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing
near the Dominican Republic, sees three "mermaids"--in reality
manatees--and describes them as "not half as beautiful as they are
painted." Six months earlier, Columbus (1451-1506) set off from Spain
across the Atlantic Ocean with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, hoping
to find a western trade route to Asia. Instead, his voyage, the first
of four he would make, led him to the Americas, or "New World."
Mermaids, mythical half-female, half-fish creatures, have existed in
seafaring cultures at least since the time of the ancient Greeks.
Typically depicted as having a woman's head and torso, a fishtail
instead of legs and holding a mirror and comb, mermaids live in the
ocean and, according to some legends, can take on a human shape and
marry mortal men. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another
folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing
seductive songs to lure sailors to their deaths.
Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren't made up, were most
likely manatees, dugongs or Steller's sea cows (which became extinct
by the 1760s due to over-hunting). Manatees are slow-moving aquatic
mammals with human-like eyes, bulbous faces and paddle-like tails. It
is likely that manatees evolved from an ancestor they share with the
elephant. The three species of manatee (West Indian, West African and
Amazonian) and one species of dugong belong to the Sirenia order. As
adults, they're typically 10 to 12 feet long and weigh 800 to 1,200
pounds. They're plant-eaters, have a slow metabolism and can only
survive in warm water.
Manatees live an average of 50 to 60 years in the wild and have no
natural predators. However, they are an endangered species. In the
U.S., the majority of manatees are found in Florida, where scores of
them die or are injured each year due to collisions with boats.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1493 : Columbus mistakes manatees for mermaids
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52319
1768 : First modern circus is staged
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6771
1806 : Nelson buried at St. Paul's Cathedral
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4662
1972 : Queen Elizabeth destroyed by fire
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4663
##########################################
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