How it works
These mermaid trivia questions are about folklore and history, in four rounds: the word and the ancient world, mermaids of Europe, mermaids around the world, and sightings, hoaxes and art.
Read the full guide
Four rounds of mermaid lore
The word and the ancient world begins with the Old English for sea and the bird-bodied sirens of Greece. Mermaids of Europe has the Lorelei, the rusalkas and the arms of Warsaw. Mermaids around the world goes from Japan to Brazil. Sightings, hoaxes and art runs from Columbus in 1493 to a reservoir in 2012.
Folklore told as folklore
A tale is asked as a tale and a sighting as a report. Tap a choice to check it; the reason and the article it was read in appear with the answer.
Questions and answers
What are some easy trivia questions about mermaids?
Which sea animals may lie behind many mermaid sightings? Which explorer reported three mermaids in 1493? Which author published a mermaid fairy tale in 1837? The answers are manatees and dugongs, Christopher Columbus and Hans Christian Andersen.
Are these mermaid trivia questions and answers about films?
No. They are about folklore, old books, reported sightings and museum hoaxes. No film, show or screen character is asked; the fairy tale of 1837 comes up only through its author and a statue.
Where do mermaid stories come from?
Figures with a human upper body and a fish tail appear in Mesopotamian art from the Old Babylonian period. The fish-tailed siren of medieval Europe grew out of the Greek sirens, which were first pictured as half bird.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article Mermaid, which every question links. The pack reports what a tale or a witness said; it does not say that any sighting was real.