Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/06/06/mermaid-or-beluga-whale.html
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Umm… then why have I never seen a drawing of a mermaid with “human like knees”?
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The “We Like to Learn” Twitter account is fascinating because everything they present as an amazing fact is, in fact, totally wrong. I can’t tell if they’re trolling, it’s satire, some sort of art project, or they’re just really, really bad at research.
This example makes me think more satire/art. Beluga whales not having leg bones, much less knees, and mermaids also not known for having legs.
The rest of their posts seem more like being really bad at research/trolling, though. (Lots of faked pictures, hoaxes, etc.)
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Whales “have knees…” even though they don’t have legs???
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The discussion of whales having knees brought this to my mind, and I’m not sure why…
Maybe I just want some milk.
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Apparently these are sort of ‘love handle’ fat deposits, not knees. Researchers believe that the whales can control these deposits to help guide them in the water - http://www.deepseanews.com/2014/04/why-do-beluga-whales-have-love-handles/
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I was thinking the same thing about the legs and knees. The picture is quite queer though. Maybe PS.
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Good link. I went looking for something like that because in checking out beluga skeletons I see that they don’t have any bones related to hind limbs anymore except for some reduced pelvic bones buried deep in the body not connected to any other part of the skeleton.
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I don’t think they meant “knees” to be taken literally. But in any case, I’ve clarified with a link to this interesting article! Thanks!
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Is this the new Italy or snaggletooth game?
I’m pretty sure you mean Bylluchy, Wales.
The most famous mermaid statue in the world has knees, for what it’s worth:
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But is that a bellybutton?
I mean one really can’t get any more (back) legless…
In this case it’s just blubber, though it doesn’t normally look so much like knees - that’s just an extreme picture. The rest of their Twitter feed is gaffs, Photoshops (and old-school photo fakery) and misleading pictures, though.
Can confirm - I’ve sailed several boats, and I find this picture unsettlingly erotic.
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That “mermaid” gave up her life as a mermaid to become a human with legs:
The Little Mermaid, longing for the prince and an eternal soul, visits the Sea Witch in a dangerous part of the ocean. The witch willingly helps her by selling her a potion that gives her legs in exchange for her tongue and beautiful voice, as the Little Mermaid has the most enchanting voice in the world.
So, you’re saying the whale is fat.
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Like 40-50% of body mass fat. Even for whales they’re little chubsters.
I don’t know how old you were in the 80s, but I remember trying very hard to find a scene in Splash where I could pause our VHS player to get a good look at Daryl Hannah’s boobs.
Definite evidence of human knee structure in that tail of hers.
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If the topic has turned to “80s-spankworthy-mermaids”, I also have very vivid recollections of the video for “She’s a Beauty” by The Tubes.
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