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Unicorn Facts

Unicorn Facts
The unicorn is a fictional character that exists in many legends and children's stories. The unicorn is often depicted as a white horse-like creature with a long horn protruding from its head. It has been depicted in various cultures as being a symbol of purity and grace, and sometimes able to heal the sick. Greek writers included unicorns in accounts of natural history and not mythology because they believed they were real. Some efforts to prove they existed have included reconstructing a so-called unicorn from fossils of a mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. Although they exist in folklore and legends, there is no proof that they ever existed.
Interesting Unicorn Facts:
A depiction of a unicorn was found in France's Lascaux Caves, dating as far back as 15,000 BCE. However this unicorn has two horns.
In Western literature the earliest mention of a unicorn appears in the work of Ctesias from the 5th century BCE. He described the unicorn as having a purple head, white body, multi-colored (red, black, and white) horn, and blue eyes.
Marco Polo encountered 'unicorns' on his travels. He described them as being very ugly and not looking anything like a unicorn - he had really seen rhinoceroses.
Genghis Khan turned his army back while on his way to India to conquer the country. He said he had seen a unicorn and it was a sign from his deceased father to turn back, so he did.
Julius Caesar once gave a description of a unicorn he had seen, and many other famous people throughout history have also made such claims.
In the King James version of the Old Testament there are a total of nine unicorn references. The references were actually a mistake in translation of the word re'em, which likely meant Assyrian rimu - a wild ox.
The unicorn horn was once worth a lot of money. German merchants even sold a unicorn 'horn' to the pope for an astronomical amount of money in 1560.
Even as late as 1741 there were pharmacies in London England selling powdered unicorn horn.
In the 1400s there were gold coins called the unicorn and the half-unicorn.
Since 1971 at Lake Superior State University in Michigan, they have issued unicorn hunting permits, which also allow the hunter to carry pinking shears and a flask of cognac.
Some unicorns are depicted with large wings and are able to fly. This unicorn species is called the Pegasi. Pegasus is a famous example of a winged horse, but not a unicorn.
European folklore depicts the unicorn as wild and unable to tame while countries east of Europe tend to describe them as docile and gentle.
Some believe that seeing a unicorn will bring them good luck.
Famous unicorns include Buttercup (Toy Story 3), My Little Pony unicorns, Nico the Unicorn, and many hundreds of others that have been depicted in movies and books and TV shows.
A type of underwater creature called a narwhal has a tusk that looks like a unicorn horn. Narwhals can grow up to 17 feet long and have tusks as long as 10 feet.


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