I found great interest in this week’s reading in “Merpeople: A Human History”, Freakshows and Fantasies. I was very intrigued by how the belief of merpeople spread throughout the United States and London. Most of the stories we have covered so far take place on different continents, such as France (Melusine) and Tamriel (sirens), which has led me to believe that the merpeople did not have an origin in a place like the United States. The ideas and beliefs of merpeople were spread widely through newspapers. Cities such as New York and London used newspapers as the primary way to spread news throughout their area. This intrigues me because most people during this time were learning about mermaids through the news. This led these people to believe in mermaids before they were even given any proof of their existence. Newspapers were publishing many hoaxes when it came to mermaids but also featured sightings. I am wondering how readers distinguished what they believed with such contradictory stories coming out at the same time. This has also brought me to connect this time with the period we are currently living in. The media has always had a large effect on people and what they believe.

I have also found great interest in P.T. Barnum’s influence on mermaid confirmation. Barnum was known for taking “freaks”, or non-conventional people, and putting them in a show. I find it interesting that he “imploded belief in merpeople” (128) when he was such a believer in the unknown. I would like to do further research on Barnum’s belief and interest in mermaids and learn about the effects that had on people during the time.