00:00Did you know that in 1842 a supposed mermaid fooled the entire world, including scientists?
00:05The famous showman P.T. Barnum presented the Fiji Mermaid,
00:09a creature that combined the body of a monkey with the tail of a fish.
00:12People were fascinated and the mermaid became an international sensation.
00:17attracting crowds and generating scientific debates.
00:20What many didn't know was that the mermaid was an elaborate hoax.
00:24The torso of a monkey sewn to the tail of a fish by Japanese artisans.
00:28Despite its fabricated origin, the Fiji mermaid was so convincing that even some scientists considered it real.
00:34The hoax was so successful that Barnum continued to exhibit Fiji mermaids for years.
00:39Today these mermaids are historical curiosities in museums around the world.
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