Feejee Mermaid: Barnum's Fishy Attraction

The Feejee Mermaid, popularized by P.T. Barnum, was presented as a mummified creature with the body of half mammal and half fish. Barnum leased it from Moses Kimball and exhibited it as a curiosity. However, the mermaid was a gaff, created by an Indonesian craftsman using papier-mâché, exotic fish materials, or the tail of a fish combined with the torso of a baby orangutan and the head of a monkey. The original exhibit was lost in a fire, and Harvard University's Peabody Museum now houses a copy.