h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was just talking to Genetics Girl about leprechauns, which turned into a talk about fairies, aliens and cultural context. I got curious, are there any indications of some kind of little people living in Ireland at any point? Small skeletons or tools being found? I know there has been in other parts of the world, but I can't remember if any has in Ireland. I figured maybe Gnomon would know.

Also do you believe there has been populations of little people somewhere in the world, or are they just myths?

I have a feeling it is a Myth but it is odd that little people / fairies are part of folklore in many countrys around the world not just Ireland.

Well something definitely existed....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4308751.stm

Indonesian hobbits?

The Indonesian hobbits are subspeices of early man.

A recent TV documentary about the Indonesian hobbits told of modern day local islanders who believed that small people lived there as little as 300 years ago. There was no evidence other than the stories though.

Faeries or Fairies

http://faerie.monstrous.com/

I imagine if there have been little people around, they have likely been closely related to humans. And Florensis certainly seems like a good place to find some.

Hmmm, that site doesn't seem to offer much in the way of evidence though.

Is there a difference between fairies and faeries?
Does anyone know how to catch a fairy?(A good bit of folklore will do)
I'm not sure really......(if they existed)
I think faeries, angels, butterflies, hummingbirds; all the winged types may have caused confusion; the size thing about angels is curious however.....I have seen a hummingbird right before me and honestly with how they flit about you could believe it was a tiny "person" a fairy or spirit; and dragonflies and glow bugs; and why not think there is this magic about?
Ever read the Dr. Seus where this elephant finds a clover with a whole civilization living on it? Same idea; no one knows what fairy evidence would be so maybe we can't find it..........
Same goes for aliens; maybe they've been up on Mars and just not looked for the right thing..........??????????

faerie is the correct spelling

fa·er·ie also fa·er·y

n. pl. fa·er·ies

A tiny, mischievous, imaginary being; a fairy.
The land or realm of the fairies.


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[Middle English faierie, fairie.

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faer·ie or faer·y adj.



faerie

n 1: small, human in form, playful, having magical powers [syn: fairy, faery, sprite] 2: the enchanted realm of fairies [syn: fairyland, faery]

"fairies and faeries?"

Probably not the right answer but i've found fairy tends to be used by writers to mean those cute, float around the garden sipping nectar fairies.
And the other spelling is used to refer to more complex darker stories and is often interchanged with sidhe.Also its more closely linked with mythology

There are good and evil fairies.

They could certainly be rather nasty according to stories.

Some have a hatrid of humans I wonder why?

Cos we're bigger and can squash them with our fingers.

Yes and everytime we say we don't beleive in them one dies.

Yeah, they were killed by all them evil scientists just like dragons.

I kind of wish that there was proof that fairies existed and the same goes for dragons

Well, dragons I could handle. Winged venom-spitting reptiles. But fairies doesn't seem likely to me.