According to the excellent wunderkammer of Twitter accounts, We Like To Learn, "Throughout history, sailors have mistaken Beluga Wales for mermaids because of their human-like knees."

(As our helpful commenters point out, those aren't literally "knees" in the image but rather love handles that help the whales steer as they swim. More here.)

(via Daily Grail) Read the rest

One of the most magical places on Earth* is hiring. Weeki Wachee in Spring Hill, Florida is auditioning for new full-time mermaids.

The Tampa Bay Times reports:

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park is an attraction in Hernando County located near the intersection of State Road 50 and U.S. Highway 19. The attraction that opened in 1947 features performers dressed as mermaids and an underwater theater.

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park will hold auditions Jan. 13 for what it hopes will be several new additions to its world-famous mermaid squad. Currently, the squad has 17 performing mermaids and three princes.

The Weeki Wachee mermaids perform underwater year-round in 72-degree spring water from the head of the Weeki Wachee river. The mermaid show debuted on Oct. 13, 1947, in the theater built of limestone and submerged six feet below the spring’s surface.

The park expects at least 50 women to come for the first, and most physically demanding, part of the audition...

On the first audition day, aspiring mermaids must complete a timed, 300-yard endurance swim, where they swim both with and against the water’s current. If they finish that successfully, candidates must tread water for 10 to 15 minutes...

Candidates will perform underwater ballet moves, like flips, a few feet below water in the park’s submerged mermaid tank that faces a 400-seat auditorium. The underwater audition shows how "comfortable" or "panicky" a candidate looks behind the glass...

Then, after the new mermaids are chosen, they must go under a year's worth of training. Read the rest

This mermaid blanket would be just the thing when binge-watching H2O: Just Add Water or Mako Mermaids. Available in blue or pink from Firebox. (via Laughing Squid) Read the rest

The Lumberjanes (previously) are headed toward a TV screen near you, but despite the furious effort that must entail, it's a sure thing that no one is neglecting their duties to the comic book. Two more collections have been published since I last reviewed the collections, and they are pure Lumberjanes dynamite: anarchic, sweet, funny, and full of more memorable characters from more magical races than the entire Monster Manual and the Fiend Folio.

Members of the species Homo aquaticus are unhappy about a recent ban on mermaid tails in public pools in Edmonton, Canada. Krista Visinski, a 24-year-old mother and mermaid tail enthusiast, delivered a petition to the city with nearly 600 signatures protesting the decision.

A City of Edmonton spokesman says there is concern the tails promote holding one's breath under water for long periods of time and can lead to blackouts and drowning. Christopher Webster says the Edmonton has no plans to lift its ban, but may allow for an exception so Visinski can continue her tail training.

[via]

Image: Shutterstock Read the rest

Cool Hunting continues its wonderful Conventional Wisdom series by following photographer Arthur Drooker to Merfest, a mermaid convention in North Carolina. Read the rest

These days, television networks air completely fictitious productions as non-fiction documentaries on subjects such as the extinct Megalodon shark or mermaids. Read the rest