The Feejee Mermaid hoax showcases how mass communication like the newspaper can shift a cultural belief from being accepted as fact to being seen as fabricated. Oral narrations have been used for thousands of years and have been used to communicate ideas and stories across time and space. Another way that ideas have been communicated has been through the written word. Both are effective at spreading information, but with the development of the press, written communication has become much faster at communicating ideas with the public. In a previous class discussion, Professor Pressman mentioned that the act of writing and the information written down was seen as true and unshakeable. If we apply this knowledge to how the press wrote about mermaids in the early and midcentury 1800s, we can see why mermaids fell from scientific grace so quickly. Scribner states that within this time frame, a Westerner would read about merpeople in their newspaper around 4 times a year (Scribner 126). This consistency for several decades would help cement mermaids as a tangible part of the world, something to be seen and studied. Had stories about mermaids continued to have been spread by oral narration, mermaids might not have been treated with such scientific interest. Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan stated that “the medium is the message.” Written word is more likely to be treated more scholarly, which would communicate to the readers that the existence of mermaids is fact. The widespread discovery and publishing of the Feejee mermaid’s origins helped to dethrone mermaids from their spot as a scientific wonder. In both instances, media in the form of the press helped to shape the public’s perception of mermaids. Despite Western society implying that the written word is something unchangeable, it’s not stagnant and can bring about change towards previously cemented cultural beliefs.