Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I read this article this morning about a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York that sheds light on the factual origins of mythic creatures like mermaids, dragons, and even kappas - all which feature prominently in Harry Potter, by the way.

My first thought when I read the article was that I had never thought what "actual" creature had made sailors think they were seeing mermaids. Griffins, dragons, unicorns...I just thought of them as characters starring in Clash of the Titans.

And then my second thought was, why do we need to disprove these figments of imagination? Why do we need to take something fanciful and stuff it in the box of forsensic proof? While I found the exhibit intriguing, it also made me a little sad. Can't we just let some things be sacred? Is a deconstruction of Mother Goose next? Loch Ness and Big Foot, and all the other mystical creatures that make us wonder if we saw what we thought we saw are thrilling in their "unprovableness." With the proliferation of information and reporting that goes on to the nth degree in the name of discovery, there's precious little that we can wonder about.