P.T. Barnum's Fiji Mermaid: For the price of $12.50 per week, P.T. Barnum purchased the exclusive rights to display a supposed "mermaid skeleton" called the Fiji Mermaid (actually the remains of a monkey sewn to the back half of a fish). Barnum then hired an associate to pretend to be a doctor who discovered the rare creature and had that man travel city-to-city, drumming up grassroots enthusiasm. Once the public was sufficiently enamored, Barnum "convinced" the doctor to let him display the mermaid for the public.