There are now 1000 professional mermaids in the US

People Magazine ^ | 30 September 2015 | Alex Heigl

[Lorianne]

Being a mermaid is hard work, but someone's got to do it.

According to Fast Company, about 1,000 someones are doing it, in fact. That's the number of people employed as full-time professional mermaids, per estimations and interviews gathered by the site.

One of those merpeople: Rachel Smith, head mermaid at Dive Bar, a lounge in downtown Sacramento, California, where she and other women perform in a 7,500-gallon aquarium.

"It's really hard," Smith explained to Fast Company. "Our legs are tied together, the fish are running into us, and it's dark. Our tails can weigh up to 35 pounds, but the saltwater makes us float, so we have another five to 10 pounds strapped between our legs; the movement is all from your core, so your abs are really working as you go through the tank."

Other aspects of Peak Mermaid in 2015 America: North Carolina's MerFest, which attracted 650 merfolk in January, and Fin Fun, a company that sells 50,000 mermaid tails a month to wannabes across the country. Mermaid exercise classes, which aim to strengthen your core via mermaid-style underwater maneuvers, are also a thing.

[Lorianne]

Inside The Mermaid Economy http://www.fastcompany.com/3050847/most-creative-people/inside-the-mermaid-economy

[jaydubya2]

I’m curious: how do mermaids pee, or reproduce?

[nickcarraway]

That’s quite a tail.

[NRx]

Slow news day?

[Artemis Webb]

[Army Air Corps]

Dunno, but they may be entitled to their own restroom.

[Boogieman]

[Snickering Hound]

Some make less than others.

[camle]

merpeople?

[Resolute Conservative]

“so we have another five to 10 pounds strapped between our legs”

Just so many things to say here...

[Jeff Chandler]

Our tails can weigh up to 35 pounds, but the saltwater makes us float, so we have another five to 10 pounds strapped between our legs

Everybody has problems.

[Jeff Chandler]

Our tails can weigh up to 35 pounds, but the saltwater makes us float, so we have another five to 10 pounds strapped between our legs

Care to comment?

[MAexile]

we have another five to 10 pounds strapped between our legs

Must. Not. Respond.

[chrisser]

At the risk of taking the thread in a family-unfriendly direction, are these mermaids clothed above the waist?

If not, I think I can imagine where some of the mermaid demand might be coming from...

Otherwise, not to discount mermaid performance artistry, but I just don’t get the point of the “profession”.

[pepsionice]

Are there Mer-men? Or is this a limited field of employment for women only?

[Jeff Chandler]

Are there Mer-men?

Fish and Chippendales?

[discostu]

I know 2 of them. They seem to have more fun making money than I do. But they don’t make as much.

[Jeff Chandler]

are these mermaids clothed above the waist?

Fishing pole dancers?

[Jeff Chandler]

They seem to have more fun making money than I do. But they don’t make as much.

Union scales?

[discostu]

Decorated bikini tops generally. And as for the point, it’s an entertainment profession, they’re kind of all pointless but the world would be dull without them.