Mermaids Gone Viral

Barnum’s use of mass media advertising attracted people from all kinds of backgrounds. He got people talking about his newest spectacle and as we would say today Barnum’s spectacles went viral. James Cook quotes Barnum in an interview: “[…] for I knew that every dollar sworn in advertising would return in tens, and perhaps hundreds in a future harvest.” A hoax needs to reach a large amount of people and those people must believe in it in order to make the hoax successful. Barnum’s Feejee mermaid exhibit fed off people’s wonder and imaginations. For example, even today 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored according to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association). Barnum also does a great job of acknowledging the doubts that naturalists have against the existence of mer-people. By doing so, Barnum in a way gained my confidence that he knows what he is talking about. When Barnum writes about different animals “merging”, for example the flying fish, he gives some sort of anatomical evidence. The people are now more likely to believe him.