January 9: Columbus mistook a manatee as a mermaid

During his writing, he said 'they are not as beautiful as half of what people describe in paintings'.

>>>Found the wreck of Christopher Columbus after 500 years

On January 9, 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus while sailing near the Dominican Republic saw three "mermaids". In fact, however, it was discovered that what Columbus saw were only manatees.

Manatee looks just like a shark fairy.

Six months earlier, Columbus began an expedition from Spain across the Atlantic in the hope of finding a new commercial route to Asia. Although he could not find his way to Asia, he discovered America or the "new world".

Meanwhile, there are many stories about the offshore mermaid that have been told among sailors. According to legend, mermaids are creatures half human and half fish, which have appeared since ancient Greece. There are stories depicting this creature so beautiful, but there are also stories depicting this creature as sea monsters, seducing sailors with singing and making them sink into the deep sea.

Many non-Columbus sailors mistook the manatee as a mermaid.

The sighting of the mermaids has also been recorded before, but most of them have mistakenly looked at the manatee or the sea cow. They are large mammals. The tail looks quite similar to the mermaid's tail, along with the movement that makes many sailors look wrong.

So far, sea cows are in danger of extinction due to overfishing of humans. The number of manatees has also decreased significantly, not only due to fishing but also due to frequent collision with boats.

Reference: History.