There are many legends about mermaids, but does anyone believe any of them? Most people are skeptical, but there are some people who really believe they exist. Mermaids are said to have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. They are also said to have been circulating the oceans as early as 5,000 BC ("Unknown Explorers - Mermaids"). Mermaids probably don't exist because there isn't enough evidence of their existence. One of the biggest questions asked about mermaids is whether they actually exist. Most people will say no, some will say yes, and some will say it's possible. Another common question asked about mermaids is usually where they live and what they do. How were they born? What do they look like? Can they talk or do they make sounds? We commonly talk about mermaids but we don't believe them. Do mermaids exist or not? Mermaid sightings have been reported as early as 586 AD. A great historian named Pliny the Elder was convinced of the existence of mermaids and described them as "rough and scaly all over." Thousands of sailors around the world have reported seeing mermaids swimming on the bows of their ships. Christopher Columbus also told of an encounter with a mermaid; in January 1493 Columbus reported seeing three mermaids playing in the ocean just off the coast of Haiti. ("Unknown Explorers - Mermaids") Columbus stated that the creatures "emerged from the water" but were "not so beautiful as they are represented, for somehow the face was more like that of a man." ("Unknown Explorers - Mermaids") What he saw could easily have been a type of animal he didn't recognize. There have been many recent mermaid sightings that have left everyone speechless. It's false, I... middle of paper... legends are probably just myths but we may never know. There's really no evidence that mermaids exist, so they probably don't exist. Anyone can choose what to believe about mermaids, but without hard evidence of what someone has seen, it's hard to believe anything. Images and videos can be easily edited so people never know if they are seeing what really happened. If mermaids exist, they're probably hiding for a reason. If mermaids exist, they definitely did a great job hiding it. Works Cited "Sage - Sirens". Essay - Sirens. Np, nd Web. April 10, 2014."Mermaid." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 September 2014. Web. 10 April 2014."Unknown Explorers - Sirens." Unknown Explorers - Sirens. Np, nd Web. 09 April 2014."Myths and legends." Origins of a mermaid and a magic comb. Np, nd Web. April 13. 2014.