Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Science: Unicorn
There was a time when horns supposed to be those of the fantastic unicorn sold for $12,000 to $150,000 apiece. A powdered bit of genuine unicorn horn was considered the most potent remedy a medieval physician could prescribe. On at least one occasion the tip of a unicorn horn was administered to a dying Pope (TIME, Feb. 25, 1935). Unicorns are described in legends far back into the mists of antiquity. Many men boasted of having seen the creature. All agreed that he was a proud and mighty beast, too wise and fleet to let himself be caught, and that...
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