Attention all wannabe sea creatures: you can buy a mermaid tail on the internet now, and it's nothing like the little kid costumes you're picturing in your head. No, no, these babies are authentic.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's a pretty typical Thursday morning at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center: kids learning how to swim, triathletes logging laps, grandmothers bopping through water aerobics.

A club of Pensacola women is proving that young girls really can grow up to be mermaids. What started off a couple of years ago as a mermaid modeling, art and accessory booth at Gallery Night has ...