Feejee Mermaid, 19th century sideshow exhibit. A taxidermy hoax made from the torso of a monkey and the tail of a fish, famously exhibited by P.T. Barnum in 1842. [5277×3150]

Often mislabeled as a "real mermaid" in Victorian-era museum displays, the Feejee/Fiji Mermaid is a classic example of 19th-century gaff taxidermy, crafted for maximum spectacle and sometimes mistaken for science.

Originally acquired in Asia and later popularized in Barnum’s American Museum, it was intended to shock, titillate, and, more importantly, sell tickets.

Most were lost in museum fires or disintegrated over time, but replicas and photos still circulate as testament to humanity’s long-standing romance with cryptid nonsense.