Mermaids on the Discovery Channel Lastnight

[BlackKnight]

... So Watcha Guys Think ?

[Zemo]

I watched part of it, to me, it seemed like UFO type stuff.

[BlackKnight]

^^^ What about the Remain parts in the Great White ? ....
They Had me there .... Sorta.

[toys2cool]

dam sounds interesting

[BlackKnight]

I guess it was on Animal Planet .

[Zemo]

I guess it was on Animal Planet .

Yea, your right it was AP. I only caught part of it, had my interest. I didn't see everything. I would watch it again though.

[torgospizza]

If it's the same film as this, it's as real as The Blair Witch Project. Why channels that are supposed to be about science play so much fiction is beyond me. Remember when The Learning Channel used to have actual classes and shows about art and history? TLC used to be co-owned by NASA! IMO, it all started changing with Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?--when Fox got huge numbers of viewers with this prank, TLC started programming almost exclusively about sharks and UFOs. The History Channel's getting bad--how many of their shows are even about history?--and truTV is essentially worthless recreations of arguments in pawn shop parking lots. What I think is great is when you go to http://believeinmermaids.com/ they have it set up to seem as if Homeland Security has shut down the site--that's pure entertainment that plays on both the fear of the unknown and distrust of government.

Mermaids would definitely make the world a more magical place, even if they are the creepy ones shown in the film, rather than the gorgeous girls out on a rock combing their tresses. I just can't believe in them, even with the aquatic ape theory. Even if there was evidence a branch of apes learned to swim readily, I'm not sure it means much when only one subspecies of our genus has even survived to this point. For mermaids to exist, we'd have to go back as far as our superfamily (Hominoidea) for them to branch off and the divergent evolution seems like too much work without enough reward. Having these small apes even survive in the water is tough enough with sharks and crocs, but when this all went down, the deadliest predators were other mammals like Basilosaurus that would have torn through those apes like Michael Moore through a shrimp buffet. Still, fun to think about in a "what if?" kind of way.

[jimsmegos]

Yep total BS but wouldn't it be great? The "Scientists" were far too phoney but the story was solid as far as Urban Legends go. The phone video was so tragically flawed its sad. The Animal Planet folks however should have put up a disclaimer ala War of the Worlds because you know there will be some nut who goes out looking for mermaids and ends up killing other sea creatures and what not.

[torgospizza]

If the aquatic apes moved like they did to access seafood and get away from volcanic islands and such, I think the first time a megalodon wiped out half a tribe with a single bite, they'd be back in the trees in no time. "Well, that didn't work--we'll take our chances back here with the leopards."

[Cosmicman]

Yep total BS but wouldn't it be great? The "Scientists" were far too phoney but the story was solid as far as Urban Legends go. The phone video was so tragically flawed its sad. The Animal Planet folks however should have put up a disclaimer ala War of the Worlds because you know there will be some nut who goes out looking for mermaids and ends up killing other sea creatures and what not.

That's what I thought. Since when did Animal Planet become Science fiction? Are the ratings slipping that bad for this stuff? What happened to the goofy animal stuff my kids used to like? Ever since Steve Irwin got speared by the manta, people have become hard core on there.
The video of the mermaid hand on the tank window was so "Sci-fi" that it wasn't even funny. I could see through that but it was enjoyable to watch I will admit.

[mazinz]

At the end of this special right after the last end credits it tells you that it everything in this was not real except for the bloop sounds and the man/dolphin fish catching teams

I still enjoyed this and really it is plausible about the sea ape theory

[Brazoo]

I haven't seen the show - but I'll try and find it online. From this discussion I'm totally with torgospizza on this one.

The "aquatic ape theory" has been long dismissed because of the lack of evidence. For one thing, all other aquatic mammals smaller than dolphins or whales are covered in thick fur.

[jimsmegos]

At the end of this special right after the last end credits it tells you that it everything in this was not real except for the bloop sounds and the man/dolphin fish catching teams

I still enjoyed this and really it is plausible about the sea ape theory

Problem still remains.... average people don't read the credits. It's very irresponsible on their part. And for instance, we had it set to DVR and it actually cut off before that disclaimer so we were never privy to that johnny come lately info.

[Brazoo]

From what I understand - the evolution of any species always has many factors and there is always the chance that some human adaptation was related to hunting in water in some way - but there is almost no evidence for it. Nearly everything we find keeps pointing to the same conclusion - the significant defining attributes of our body, brain function and our social behavior - seem to show we've been adapted for hunting and living on land.

[Brazoo]

Problem still remains.... average people don't read the credits. It's very irresponsible on their part. And for instance, we had it set to DVR and it actually cut off before that disclaimer so we were never privy to that johnny come lately info.

I hate that, and that is really irresponsible.