Something that pure fucks me up is that so many cultures around the world, from Europe to Indigenous Australians describe the Pleiades as a variant on seven sisters/maidens. Only six stars in the cluster are visible to the naked eye. There are stories from these diffuse cultures as to how one "sister" died or was hidden, usually from Orion the hunter.
About 100,000 years ago, a seventh star would have been visible but it moved so naked eye can't see its individual point of light any more.
@stavvers Er... How many are visible depends on viewing conditions and specifics of eyeball. Ten of them have names in Greek; twelve have magnitudes 6.5 or brighter, and so are usually considered "visible"; two more are close.
Even if Sterope and Asterope can't be distinguished from each other because they're too close together, that still makes for nine. Combining Atlas and Pleione as well means eight.
Here's more documentation to support Stephan's statement that "visible with the naked eye" is not a constant value. Instead, it is highly dependent on local sky conditions and eyesight/training of the person doing the observing.
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/many-pleiades-can-see10222014/
From the article: "Robert Burnham, in his 3-volume Celestial Handbook, writes that 'there are at least 20 stars in the group which might be glimpsed under the finest conditions.'" The article's author states they were able to spot 14 (article written in 2014).
I was going to say the author was able to identify 14 "with the naked eye"... but they appear to wear glasses.
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