Looks like this little mermaid really wanted to be part of our world.
On the Discovery Channel's two-hour special Mermaids: The Body Found, a young man appears to stumble upon a mermaid corpse on the beach. (The documentary-style program premiered in Australia in 2011 but recently re-aired in the U.S.)
In the gritty, Blair Witch–esque footage, the boy approaches the seemingly dead creature lying in the sand. But to his horror, the (apparently angry) mermaid shoots up, gasping for air and letting out a pained, visceral scream. (Fast-forward to 0:40 in the clip above if you want to get straight to the action.)
Like any intelligent human, the young man flees (and the cameras keep rolling, of course). But was this mermaid the real deal? Did Discovery actually discover physical proof of these famed mythical beings?
Cool it, Ursula. The channel admits in a press release that the special "is science fiction, using sciences as a springboard into imagination."
Coincidentally (or maybe to stave off a wash of wannabe Ariels from taking to the sea), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association recently posted a statement explaining that "no evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found."
Evidence-schmevidence. If you believe in fairy tales, hang on to those seashell bras.