Curious About Mermaids

PODCAST 111: CURIOUS ABOUT MERMAIDS

RELEASE DATE:  NOVEMBER 15TH, 2020

CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME MUSIC

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE’VE BEEN DOING THIS PODCAST FOR OVER 2 YEARS, SO IT’S UNUSUAL FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE, BUT CHECK THIS OUT.  WE GOT 2 CONSECUTIVE LISTENER SUGGESTIONS FOR THE EXACT SAME TOPIC… I MEAN, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?  IT’S TIME FOR A DOUBLE MAILBAG.

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HELLO JACOB AND OLIVIA.  MY NAME IS KENDALL.  I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR PODCAST!  I LISTEN TO IT WHEN I AM DOING SCHOOL WORK, OR EVEN DOING ANYTHING!  YOU GUYS ARE SO ADDICTING TO LISTEN TO!  I LOVE YOUR PODCAST SO MUCH.  I HAVE A SUGGESTION ON SOMETHING YOU GUYS CAN GET CURIOUS ABOUT.  CAN YOU GUYS GET CURIOUS ABOUT MERMAIDS.  THANKS!

-FROM KENDALL OF MERRIMACK, NEW HAMPSHIRE

O:  THANKS FOR THE E-MAIL KENDALL.  WE ARE SO HAPPY YOU ENJOY THE PODCAST.  THE NEXT LISTENERS GAVE THEIR SUGGESTION THROUGH THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST FACEBOOK PAGE.

D:  THEIR MESSAGE SAYS “HI!  MY CHILDREN (LEAH 9, NATALYN 8, AND KORVIN 1) LOVE YOUR PODCAST SO MUCH THAT I SHARED IT AT WORK.  I WORK FOR THE LOCAL LIBRARY IN OUR AREA AND WE SHARED IT ON OUR INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND TWITTER ACCOUNT FOR THE LIBRARY.  MY KIDS WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF YOU COULD BE CURIOUS ABOUT HUNTING, MERMAIDS, OR SUPERHEROES.  THEY ARE VERY CURIOUS ABOUT THOSE TOPICS RIGHT NOW.  GREAT SHOW AND WE REALLY ENJOY LISTENING.”

O:  THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT, LEAH, NATALYN, AND KORVIN.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT MERMAIDS TODAY!

D:  WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE AMAZING LISTENERS THAT ENJOY THE PODCAST SO MUCH THAT THEY WANT TO SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.  WE KNOW SO MANY OF OUR LISTENERS SUPPORT THE SHOW IN AMAZING WAYS, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.  IT REALLY MEANS THE WORLD TO US.  LEARNING ABOUT MERMAIDS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN, BUT TOPICS LIKE THIS MAKE ME A BIT NERVOUS.

O:  WHY ARE YOU NERVOUS GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT MERMAIDS, DADDY?

D:  BECAUSE, AS I’M SURE YOU ALREADY KNOW, MERMAIDS DON’T EXIST, SO IT COULD BE HARD TO COME UP WITH INTERESTING THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE MERMAIDS.

O:  THAT’S TRUE, BUT CURIOUS ABOUT UNICORNS IS ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR EPISODES.

D:  YOU’RE RIGHT.  IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD CURIOUS ABOUT UNICORNS, EPISODE 85, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT.  AS WE RECORD THIS EPISODE TODAY, CURIOUS ABOUT UNICORNS HAS THE MOST DOWNLOADS PER DAY OF ANY OF THE EPISODES WE’VE EVER DONE.  IT’S BEEN VERY, VERY POPULAR.  OKAY OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE VILLAIN IN THE MOVIE “THE LITTLE MERMAID”?

D:  THE VILLAIN IS THE EVIL PERSON IN A STORY.  DO YOU REMEMBER WHO THE VILLAIN IS IN “THE LITTLE MERMAID”?  OKAY, I THINK A GOOD PLACE TO START WOULD BE TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE WORD MERMAID MEANS.

O:  MERMAID MEANS “WOMAN OF THE SEA”.  

D:  THE WORD “MER” MEANS “OF THE SEA” IN OLD ENGLISH.  THE WORD “MAID” MEANS “WOMAN”.  PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AND MERMAID MEANS “WOMAN OF THE SEA”.

O:  THE FIRST ACCOUNT OF MERMAIDS WAS MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS AGO.

D:  IT STARTED WITH ATARGATIS, A SYRIAN GODDESS.  AS THE STORY GOES, ATARGATIS WAS BORN FULLY HUMAN.  SHE WAS SAD, SO SHE DECIDED SHE WOULD THROW HERSELF INTO A LAKE AND TRY TO TRANSFORM INTO A FISH.  ACCORDING TO LEGEND, HER BEAUTY WAS SO STRONG AND POWERFUL, THAT HER TRANSFORMATION STOPPED HALFWAY.

O:  THIS LEFT HER WITH THE TAIL OF A FISH, BUT SHE WAS HUMAN ABOVE THE WAIST.

D:  MANY EXPLORERS, SUCH AS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, HENRY HUDSON, AND JOHN SMITH HAVE REPORTED SEEING MERMAIDS IN THEIR TRAVELS.  CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS SAW THREE MERMAIDS IN THE YEAR 1493.

O:  HE SAID THEY WEREN’T AS BEAUTIFUL AS HE THOUGHT MERMAIDS WOULD BE.

D:  JOHN SMITH’S MERMAID SIGHTING CAME IN 1614.  HE SAID HE ALMOST FELL IN LOVE WITH A MERMAID.

O:  HIS MERMAID WAS DESCRIBED AS HAVING LONG, GREEN HAIR.

D:  HENRY HUDSON SAW A MERMAID IN THE YEAR 1608, NEAR RUSSIA.

O:  HIS MERMAID HAD LONG, BLACK HAIR, FAIR SKIN, AND THE TAIL OF A PORPOISE.

D:  IT TURNS OUT THAT MANATEES WERE OFTEN CONFUSED FOR BEING MERMAIDS.

O:  MANATEES ARE ALSO CONSIDERED TO BE SEA COWS. 

D:  IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT MANATEES COULD BE CONFUSED AS BEING MERMAIDS, BUT EVIDENTLY A SWIMMING MANATEE CAN APPEAR TO HAVE MANY OF THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS WE ATTRIBUTE TO MERMAIDS.    

O:  MERMAIDS HAVE ALSO APPEARED IN WELL REGARDED BOOKS OVER THE YEARS.

D:  MERMAIDS CAN BE FOUND IN THE BOOK OF JEWISH LAW, CALLED THE TALMUD.  THEY ARE ALSO COVERED IN PLINY THE ELDER’S BOOK “NATURAL HISTORY”, WHICH WAS CONSIDERED THE TOP RESOURCE FOR ALL THINGS NATURAL HISTORY FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.   

O:  ARE THERE MALE MERMAIDS?

D:  SURE, BUT THEY GO BY A DIFFERENT NAME.  THEY ARE CALLED MERMEN.  THE GREEK GOD TRITON IS AN EXAMPLE OF A MERMAN.  MERMEN ARE CONSIDERED MORE SHY THAN MERMAIDS AND OFTEN DON’T COME TO THE SURFACE OF THE OCEAN.    

O:  ACCORDING TO FOLKLORE, A KISS FROM A MERMAID GIVES YOU GILLS.

D:  AND HAVING GILLS WOULD ALLOW YOU TO BREATHE UNDERWATER.  

O:  IS IT POSSIBLE THAT MERMAIDS REALLY DO EXIST OR THAT THEY EXISTED?

D:  I GUESS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.  THERE ARE ENOUGH ACCOUNT OF PEOPLE BEING CERTAIN THAT THEY’VE SEEN MERMAIDS.  ALMOST ALL SCIENTISTS AGREE THAT MERMAIDS ARE NOT REAL, BUT THE VERY FEW THAT DO OFTEN BELIEVE IN SOMETHING CALLED THE “AQUATIC APE THEORY”.  YOU MAY REMEMBER, FROM EPISODE 38 CURIOUS ABOUT EVOLUTION, WHICH IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES, THAT MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, HUMANS EVOLVED FROM APES.  IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT ONE STEP FURTHER, SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT OUR ANCESTORS USED TO SPEND PARTS OF THEIR LIVES LIVING IN OR NEAR WATER, LIKE SO MANY ANIMALS DO.  THEY SUPPORT THE AQUATIC APE THEORY BY POINTING OUT THINGS LIKE THE FACT THAT HUMANS WALK UPRIGHT, WHICH MAY HAVE COME ABOUT FROM THE NEED TO KEEP THEIR HEADS ABOVE WATER.  AGAIN, VERY FEW PEOPLE BUY INTO THIS THEORY, ALTHOUGH SCIENTISTS ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY BELIEVE IN THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANS FROM APES.   

O:  HAVE THEIR BEEN ANY RECENT MERMAID SIGHTINGS?

D:  THERE HAVE.  CHECK THIS OUT.  IF YOU WANT A MILLION BUCKS, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROVIDE PROOF OF A MERMAID PEOPLE HAVE SEEN IN THE ISRAELI TOWN OF KIRYAT YAM.  SINCE THE YEAR 2009, JUST 11 YEARS AGO, PEOPLE HAVE CLAIMED TO SEE A MERMAID RIGHT AROUND SUNSET PERFORMING A SHOW BEFORE GOING BACK TO SEA FOR THE NIGHT.  MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS SUGGEST THAT THIS MERMAID HAS THE UPPER BODY OF A GIRL AND THE TAIL OF A DOLPHIN.  THE MAYOR OF THE COASTAL TOWN HAD THE IDEA OF PROVIDING A REWARD OF ANYONE WHO CAN GET A PHOTO OR OTHER CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE THAT THE MERMAID OF KIRYAT YAM EXISTS.  OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE VILLAIN IN THE DISNEY MOVIE “THE LITTLE MERMAID”?

O:  HER NAME IS URSULA.  I USED TO BE VERY SCARED OF URSULA.

D:  I REMEMBER TAKING YOU TO DISNEY WORLD A FEW YEARS AGO IN MAY OF 2016, YOU WERE 2 AND 1/2 YEARS OLD.  WE WENT ON THE UNDER THE SEA RIDE IN MAGIC KINGDOM.  IT’S A PRETTY TAME RIDE, BUT AT ONE POINT, YOU TURN A CORNER AND YOU’RE MET WITH URSULA, DOING HER SPOOKY SINGING THING.  

O:  I WASN’T HAPPY WITH URSULA AT ALL.

D:  BUT, THEN WE WENT BACK WITH YOUR LITTLE BRO NOAH 2 YEARS LATER, AND YOU WEREN’T SCARED AT ALL.  THE LITTLE MERMAID IS DEFINITELY ONE OF OUR FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIES.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  111 - MERMAIDS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB TO KENDALL, LEAH, NATALYN, AND KORVIN FOR GIVING US SOMETHING REALLY FUN TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT.  IT’S THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE 2 WEEKS LEFT TO RAISE MONEY FOR NO KID HUNGRY AS PART OF OUR THANKSGIVING FUNDRAISER.  YOU CAN DONATE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK IN OUR SHOW NOTES THAT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THEIR WEBSITE.  YOU CAN ALSO DONATE FROM THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST FACEBOOK PAGE.  WE WILL ALSO DONATE $1 FOR EVERY ITUNES OR APPLE PODCASTS REVIEW WE RECEIVE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MONTH.  CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME REVIEW WE GOT A FEW DAYS AGO.  THE SUBJECT IS “6 YEAR OLD IS OBSESSED”.  IT SAYS “THIS KEEPS MY 6 YEAR OLD QUIET AND HER HEAD SPINNING.  HA.  MY HUSBAND AND I PUT IT ON FOR LONG CAR RIDES AND WHENEVER WE NEED A MOMENT OF SILENCE.  SHE JUST SAT HERE AND LISTENED TO 10 EPISODES STRAIGHT.  IT’S REALLY WELL-DONE.  THE DAD AND DAUGHTER ARE SUPER CUTE”.  WELL, THANKS A MILLION TO USERNAME NMILBRATH FOR THE REVIEW.  LEAVE US A REVIEW TODAY SO WE CAN DONATE MORE TO NO KID HUNGRY.  IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WILL DONATE $1 FOR EVERY NEW OR EXISTING PATREON SUPPORTER WE HAVE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH.  IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY, YOU ARE GOING TO WANT TO CHECK US OUT ON PATREON.  WE HAVE SO MUCH EXTRA CONTENT AND LOTS OF FUN GOODIES FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT THERE.  STARTING IN JANUARY, WE WILL BE DOING AN ADDITIONAL ONCE A MONTH CURRENT EVENTS EPISODE THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR OUR PATREON SUPPORTERS ONLY.  YOU CAN FIND A LINK TO OUR PATREON PAGE IN THE SHOW NOTES.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT SPEED FOR A LISTENER IN THE PHILIPPINES.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.