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Mermaids uncovered!

31 May 2012: Mermaids uncovered! 7.30pm for 8pm start. £3/£2 concessions


A merman yesterday
Join Paolo Viscardi (Horniman Museum) and Ross MacFarlane (Wellcome Library) for an evening exploring the history, cultural context and scientific probing of mermaids.


The evening will be structured around mermaid specimens collected by Henry Wellcome, with details of recent research into their construction and provenance carried out at the Horniman and Buxton Museums. Paolo and Ross will lead you on a journey spanning thousands of years and half the planet, touching on the origins and evolution of mermaids and the fakery, misidentification and publicity that has shaped our understanding of these fascinating, if fishy, fabrications.

Each evening begins with the Fortmanteau, our monthly summary of strange news stories


We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at the Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX.

Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East.

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