Did you know that until the 19th Century, unicorns were believed to not be fantastical creatures, but to actually exist? For thousands of years it was a completely accepted fact by most sources that the magical creature that only virgins could catch roamed in the deep places of the world. But as society became more modern and the world became more accurately mapped, there were several holes poked into the belief. But that doesn't mean people still try to milk it for what its worth.
Though now considered highly controversial, it was once not uncommon to alter the horns of newborn hooved animals like cows and goats surgically so as to grow them together in a single horn on the center of the head. The circus used to carry such unicorns en masse, like this photo above.
This skeleton, constructed in the Victorian Era, was deemed convincing enough to reform the harshest of critics. But here's the truth, it was not unheard of in the era, but it was a chimera assembled from the bones of many different animals. Most notably:
The Elasmotherium, an extinct type of rhino that may have directly inspired the unicorn myths
The Narwhal, with its distinct tusk, was the culprit in many unicorn horn lookalikes during the middle ages.
There are types of antelope with long, spiraling horns as well, and when viewed from the side, they bear a striking resemblance.
And that is another installment of Random Wednesday.
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