Mermaid or Manatee?

So apparently Christopher Columbus had real issues, other than the fact that he completely got lost, incorrectly named an entire people and then slaughtered them. I just read this article that talks about the origins of certain mythical creatures. This is right up my alley being a big scifi nut. I thought the funniest thing was that Columbus apparently thought that he saw mermaids in the ocean. Scientists think that what he really saw were manatees. Now, I've seen a manatee, mind you only on television, but still. They surely do not look like people to me. They look like big gray blobs...overgrown seals or something. Too bad I can't go to the American Museum of Natural History and check out the exhibit they have on this. They superimpose a picture of a mermaid over a picture of a manatee to show how the mistake could have been made. I suppose from afar the mistake could have been made, but I'd have to see this exhibit for myself. Sounds ridiculous to me :)