Hey i found these pictures while i was using firefoxes extenions"Stumbleupon" and i felt like sharing them so here they are http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Sea-Creatures-20060801
there probably fake but they seem pretty interesting, why would people make such effort to make such things?

ahh... fiji mermaid.. yep all fake. interesting? no.. they disgusting.

you can tell that a lot of those are photoshopped. a lot of the people that make those are owners of freak shows, they make these for profit. fiji mermaids were monkeys stitched together with fish. they sold these to showmen for profit. you can tell that a lot of these are fake and biologically unfit for living. e.g. the skull fish. that just wouldn't be probable for life, it would die out before it got to that evolutionary stage. it's a hoax.

Because they're awsome. Some are kinda stupid, but others are great in a freaky kind of way. Like this one:

i dont think they all potoshoped. most of them are taxiderm animal. good skill but bad taste.

Mostly a combination of ‘Feejee’ mermaids and Jenny Hannivers or Devil Fish – a ray dried out to give the appearance of anything from a dragon to a mermaid.

I don’t think in modern times we can really appreciate the appeal that things like this used to hold. I certainly think they’re more interesting than a photoshopped fake, they’re an art form. Anyone can cut out an image of a pterosaur or a man in a monkey suit and stick it on a suitable background; all of these things have actually been made, meticulously sewn together with real craftsmanship. Even if you don’t like the look of them, you can’t deny there’s skill involved.

Some of those are deterrents for ever going in the ocean again. Ever.

A collection of crap rivaled only by my Aunt Edna's(Aunt Edna keeps EVERYTHING), although my Aunt Edna dosen't have a Fiji Mermaid...but the day is young.

Most of those creatures look like ones that some guy puts up for sale on Ebay every once in a while. He claims them to be real and he just so happens to find them every two and three on isolated beaches in Florida. People are actually buying these things for large amounts of money. I have seen several others for sale by the same person. I think the guy is a talented taxidermist and artist of sorts who is making a pretty penny from gullible people who actually believe them to be real. As P.T. Barnum said "There is a sucker born every minute".


Here is the link:





http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...bayphotohosting

Yeah, I think he goes by the "name" of "Mystery Man" or some facsimile therof.....and the only so-called "isolated" beaches in Florida(S. Fla in particular) are the nude beaches frequented by obese geriatrics who have nothing left to live for but to annoy everyone they come in contact with.

Taxiderm...what would this forum be without them:)

I think the strangest one I saw on the page was this one...

[attachmentid=27262]

Fake or not...that would keep me out of the ocean!

Pedant alert!!!!:
Barnum never actually said “there’s a sucker born every minute”.
It would have been totally out of character for the man who created the Feejee mermaid – he never saw himself as really conning anyone, just entertaining them.

The quote has two likely sources; that it was uttered by conman Joseph Bettimer and attributed to Barnum by his rivals in an attempt to discredit him (he never denied the quote, instead thanking his rivals for the free publicity), or that it came from a banker called David Hannum, who had bought a ‘giant’ which he believed to be real. When he exhibited it, Barnum made his own, calling Hannum’s giant a fake. The famous insult was aimed at those who were paying to see Barnum’s fake giant instead of Hannum’s ‘real’ one.

Sorry…I’ll get me coat.

They're all very good sculptures and mutilations, but fake, I'm afraid.



And that is the marine chupacabra: el chupapescado! Trawlermen find some of their catches mysteriously drained of blood, and once a man fell overboard and they found his body mutilated and 'desanguinated' (not sure if that's a real word or if I just made it up).

I was going to go-off on a rant about anyone who has the kind of free time to make-up ridiculous crap like this when I came to the realization that: If there are people out there dumb enough to buy a "mermaid" for $1550.00 on Ebay...then why SHOULDN'T there be people dumb enough to make the ridiculous crap.......supply and demand on a purely idiotic level, that's what that is......."Dumb-ass economics".

I don’t really get why it’s stupid. I’m pretty sure that the people buying it don’t think they’re buying a real mermaid. As I’ve said before, it’s an art form. Just because you don’t like it or find it distasteful doesn’t make it any less valid.

Would YOU pay $1550.00 for the "mermaid" that was for sale if you had $1550.00 to spend on something?

I didn’t see the particular mermaid for sale but, presuming it was similar to these, then I wouldn’t buy one for myself to put in my house, no. But that’s a matter of personal taste. If someone spent thousands of pounds on a piece of art that wasn’t to my taste, I wouldn’t call them stupid.

And if I ran a museum or something similar then I’d certainly buy it. I don’t think the price is that extreme – it’s probably quite old, and a lot of work has gone into it.

Here's the thread/link.....don't forget you checkbook.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...showtopic=74975

I agree that the idea of "art" is purely subjective(as long as nobody is being hurt)....but you tell me TRUTHFULLY that you diddn't take one look at that "mermaid" or whatever-the-hell it's supposed to be and say to yourself...."$1550.00 for that.....there's a sucker born every minute".

Some of them made me laugh... especially the first 1 (which is a mixture of a hyppopotamus, a fish and a crocodile) with a dumb look LOL come on... and that 1 who looks like a fish-monkey-man-sundried-like-a-piece-of-sh**


hillarious! ...but who did them is pretty talented i must say!

In all honesty, I thought…man, that’s cool. It’s 5 feet tall!
I’d buy it, if I had 750 quid.
I still might buy the ‘cryptid corpse’ the seller has online at the mo’. That’s a bargain…

yup. we cant blame on someone hobby right ? but i prefer stuffed animal than those 'mermaid' they just... to ugly for me

These are the most absurd things Ive heard of since we stopped putting leeches on people with headaches to suck the evil outta thier brains. Really, these do look, TOTALLY fake.

Why do people feel the need to come along and stress the fakeness of the photo when the thread has already established this many, many times over?
What we were debating was not the authenticity of these creatures; I’m seriously worried about anyone who needs to be told that they are fake. We were debating the merit of these creations, whether artistic or otherwise.

I replied to the OP, thankyouverymuch. Maybe I just didn't have enough interest in something like this to look at every post. And FYI, 2 pages might seem like a lot to you, but trust me, its nothing.

But what’s the point in posting a reply without reading the other replies? If everyone did that then you’d just have people posting the same thing over and over again.

Oh wait a minute…that kind of is what happens here, isn’t it?

The link does say "fake sea creatures"............BUT......it also says "click here" for more cool pics.......



THAT is anything BUT cool.....but I guess beauty(or art in this case) truly does lie in the eye of the beholder.....purely subjective. I guess it's a "talent", I couldn't do it, but then again...why the hell would I want to?...oh yeah, I remember why!!!.......



Beacuse there are people out there willing to pay $1550.00 for this "art"(I know, I know..."The Eye of the Beholder").....My question is: If you have $1550.00 in your hand right now, would YOU buy that "art"?

If I had $1550 right now, and it was still for sale, I might well buy it.

I organise themed events and it would make a great prop. Do you have any idea how much props on that scale cost? It’s actually pretty cheap. I wanted to buy a life size pirate model for an upcoming pirate party, and that was the same amount of money in pounds sterling.

‘Tis a bargain if you ask me!

*wanders off to contact buyer…*

No, actually I have NO idea how much props sell for, so if you say it's a bargain, I bow to your better knowledge sir....and your billfold, lol.

Unfortunately, my wallet’s not that hefty.
More’s the pity…I’ve grown quite attached to it’s weird little face.
And I’m no sir…

Pardon the assumption(I usually don't assume ANYTHING), but in my own defense, you have no gender listed m'lady.

Assumption excused!
So, are you now off to start your own lucrative monster-making business? I see this chap’s expanding into literature…check the book on Maori shrunken heads he has for sale. When I first looked I thought he meant a book MADE OF Maori shrunken heads…eek!

In a world where 'art' such as cubism and modern art is even allowed to be sold as art, I'm not at all surprised someone would pay $1000+ for something like that.

It’s art that I don’t like, therefore it is ‘art’.
Hmm….

Pretty much.



Not exactly shrunken heads, but this book was bound in human skin.

I suppose that NOTHING should really surprise me anymore, it will probably be my undoing someday, lol. I think it's just my inability to relate when judging interest in such a piece(piece of what is up to you). You should have taken one look at me after I came home from a weekend in Vegas just recently....I could have sold myself as a "Modern-art" masterpiece, lol.

That link brings new meaning to the saying: "Waste not, want not"...Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!!!

theyre fake

Respectfully speaking, I don't believe that fact was ever in debate.

My whole world view is crushed...

Great, Mauricinho.......now see what cha did?

I have never used photoshop. I am the creator of the mermaid being discussed here.

frpm my point of view, They are REAL

The entire skin of the mermaid is authentic fish skin ( including the fins and teeth )

the final selling price on this mermaid was a HUGE letdown for me, the creator. $1550.00 A JOKE! You have NO IDEA the amount of hours and effort I put into this mermaid.

I was expecting..just to be a fair price...on materials, effort and time spent...$5000

This mermaid was 5 feet long. I have sold mermaids 2-3 feet long for $1000

I claim them to be real...because they are real....as in real once living flesh and bones. To me when you say something is fake..I think of plastic or rubber.

Large amounts of money? where and when? cause i sure don't have lots of money doing this...yet. My customers KNOW exactly what they are buying....they also know who I am. You people here sure do alot of assuming to know the facts...when in reality you know so little.

My customers are very happy when they get the rare chance to buy one of my sea creatures. Why? because there is noone else selling such creatures of this quality. Plus they are paying a low price for a great work of art that can only go up in value over time. You assume people are all so ignorant as to believe my tongue in cheek tales concerning my " finds "....you wrong. My feedback at ebay is perfect....noone has ever been angry or fooled or wanting their money back.

I work hard at this because I love it....I hardly ever get paid what is deserved if you take into consideration my time and effort that goes into each creation. I carry on a tradition almost forgotten...I should have been doing this 500 years ago....but I am here today doing this instead. My goal is to bring back that which is only a myth today. I do it to bring enjoyment to people of all ages. I have just begun....wait till you see what I come up with next.

Someone took the photos off of my ebay auction without my permission. I didn't start any of the urban legends concerning this mermaid.

Why do people make art? sometimes for themselves but most of the time to share with the world. In my case both.
I LOVE giving life to my mermaids and sea monsters. I constantly push myself to do better the next time. I try not to build the same exact sea creature twice.
While your out having fun on a friday night...I'm home working on a sea monster.