And now, it's time for Who Smarted?
Psst, hey, smarty pants, guess where I am?
If you said the zoo, the aquarium, or a planet in the Star Wars universe, that is a great guess.
But it's actually someplace a lot weirder than that.
Why, I'm at the Mythical Creature Convention, a.k.a.
MythCon.
Okay, confession time.
MythCon, just like the mythical creatures here, doesn't really exist.
But hey, let's pretend it does.
Anywho, like I was saying, MythCon is the place to go if you like mythical creatures.
Things like dragons, mermaids, centaurs, werewolves, ogres, orcs, goblins, and trolls.
Many more fabulous and fantastical beasts, including one of the most popular mythical creatures of all.
Unicorns!
That's right.
Unicorns.
Oh, and that voice you just heard is my friend Allie.
She loves unicorns.
I love unicorns so much.
And I know a lot about them too.
Did you know the word unicorn comes from the Latin uni, which means one, and cornu, which means horn.
Put them together and you've got one horn.
Just like a unicorn.
Nice one, Allie.
Unicorns are like pretty ponies with one big spiral horn on their foreheads.
They're the best.
They're beautiful.
They're magical.
They're legendary.
They're also very hard to pin down.
People have been looking for unicorns since ancient times.
They've appeared in ancient folklore from Mesopotamia, ancient India, ancient China and ancient Greece, where a Greek physician and historian named Theseus actually wrote one of the first reports about the unicorn around 400 BCE.
It turns out he was probably talking about a different one-horned animal.
Any guess what that might be, Smarty Pants?
If you said a rhinoceros, you're probably right.
Well, I see unicorns all the time.
On my pajamas backpack, lunchbox stickers, the t-shirt.
I'm currently wearing the t-shirts.
I'm not wearing my socks.
The only place I've never seen a unicorn is in person.
Which is why we're here at the Mythical MythCon to see a one-horned horse with our own two eyes.
Legend says whoever touches a unicorn will find happiness and joy for the rest of their lives.
Eternal happiness and joy sounds good to me, but also I have a lot of questions like what magical powers do unicorns have?
How do you catch a unicorn?
And has anyone ever really proved the existence of unicorns?
Ooh, I want to know that too.
Great.
Then it's time for another magical whiff of science-ish and history on... Who Smarted?
Who Smarted?
Who's smart?
Is it you?
Is it me?
Is it science?
Or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting lots of fun on Who's Smarted.
Okay, smarty pants.
I am at a completely made-up myth convention with my friend Allie, who is a huge Unicorniac, or unicorn, fan.
Not just me, my parents too.
Did you know my name Allie is short for alicorn?
Ah, yes, that's right.
Smarty Pants, do you know what the name alicorn means?
Is it A, the magical horn of a unicorn?
B, a mythical horse with wings and a unicorn horn?
Or C, a tasty type of corn cob that grows in Alabama and is shaped like a unicorn horn?
That's a trick question.
There are two correct answers.
Hey, it's a pegasus!
A huge white horse with wings.
Uh, that's not a real pegasus, Allie.
It's just a guy in a pegasus costume.
A very expensive, homemade Pegasus costume?
Who happens to know the answers to your question?
An alicorn is both A the magical horn of a unicorn and B a mythical horse with wings and a unicorn horn.
Sort of like a cross between a unicorn and a Pegasus.
Shouldn't it be called a Pegacorn?
A Unisys?
No, it's an alicorn, like me.
Hey, if you guys are looking for unicorns, you should head to Rainbow Hall.
Legend says unicorns are often found near rainbows because they're both beautiful, magical and rare.
I'd join you, but I gotta get to Bigfoot's autograph signing.
And I hear the Kraken has given out some sick merch.
Later!
All right.
To Rainbow Hall we go.
Yay!
Wow, Rainbow Hall is so colorful.
And glittery.
Too much glitter.
What?
You can never have too much glitter.
Maybe not.
But if you can, this is it.
Trusty, look.
Over there.
It's a unicorn.
Maybe it can tell us about the magical powers of the unicorn and how we can find one.
Uh, I don't think that's a real unicorn.
It looks like a girl in a unicorn costume.
Oh, you might be right.
But she still looks super cool.
I should have worn a unicorn costume.
Oh, I think you look great in your unicorn shirt, socks, shorts, hat, sunglasses, sneakers, backpack, oh, and earrings.
Besides, don't you already know everything there is to know about the magical powers of unicorns?
Yeah, I already mentioned that touching them gives you eternal happiness and joy.
But did you know?
A unicorn's horn, also known as alicorn, was believed to have magical powers to purify water and heal wounds and diseases.
I did not know that.
Yep, the alicorn was one of the most well-known remedies during the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, too.
Right.
People believed if they drank from cups of alicorn, it would heal them.
And alchemists and apothecaries which is just a fancy word for old-school pharmacists would grind the horn into a powder and put it in medicine to fight off everything from measles to snakebites, to the plague.
They would?
Oh yeah, people would pay a lot of money for an alicorn, especially the royals, because it didn't just prevent or heal disease, but it also protected them against poison.
Many kings and queens, including the king of France, used alicorns to detect poison.
If a horn heated up and smoked when it touched food or drink, it was poisoned.
Some royals even lined their goblets with what they thought was unicorn horn and used it to make scepters, crowns and thrones.
Wow, that's something.
I read, Queen Elizabeth once paid 10000 pounds for an alicorn, which was the going price of a castle back in the 1500s.
How unbelievable is that?
Very unbelievable, considering that unicorns aren't real.
Trusty, you can't say unicorns aren't real at MythCon.
Uh-oh, the girl in the unicorn costume looks like she's ready to charge.
Yikes!
What I meant was, unicorns aren't real.
Fond of people taking their horns to use for medicine and poison detection.
Whew, that was close.
Anyway, like you were saying, unicorns became sort of a status symbol for the rich, famous and likely to be poisoned.
Yes, but they're much more than that, trustee.
They're a symbol of nobility, power, and independence.
Ancient Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote about the unicorns in his famous book, Natural History.
He said unicorns were fierce and impossible to catch, but that didn't stop people from trying.
So what's the secret?
How do you catch a unicorn?
Well, according to a medieval bestiary I read, which is an illustrated book with descriptions of animals both real and mythical, it says only an innocent maiden can tame a unicorn.
It will lie down on her lap and fall asleep.
Oh.
Aww, that's so cute.
But unicorns aren't just cute.
They're also super smart and can see what others can't.
Ooh, you mean like a sixth sense?
Hey, smarty pants.
According to legend, clever unicorns can tell when someone does which of the following?
A. Daydream.
B. Lie.
Or C. Fart.
I don't think you need a unicorn to tell when someone farts.
The answer is B. Unicorns supposedly can tell when someone is lying.
Yep, and then they pierce the liar through the heart with its horn.
Yikes, you're right.
That is definitely not cute.
Nope, but I still love unicorns.
They sure are fascinating, not to mention noble, powerful, independent, and fierce.
Maybe that's why a certain nation made the unicorn its official national animal.
Smarty Pants, do you know the answer?
Is it A, Scotland, B, India, or C, Denmark?
Hmm, that I don't know.
But whichever nation it is, I am definitely going there.
Smarty Pants, the answer is coming up right after this quick break.
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Hey, smarty friends.
Trusty here.
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As the trusty narrator, I've taken the smarty pants on countless adventures.
I'll do anything for the fans.
But off mic, I prefer to keep my adventures in the safe space of my own backyard.
However, even a homebody like me can't avoid the unexpected chaos that comes with family life.
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Now back to Who Smarted? with my unicorn-loving friend, Allicorn.
So, Smarty Pants, which nation has the unicorn as its national animal?
The answer is... Scotland.
Good guess, Allie.
That's right.
How'd you figure it out?
My unicorn sense told me the other two answers were lies.
Uh, should I be worried about taking a unicorn-Allicorn to the heart?
No, you're safe.
Phew.
Anywho, the unicorn was first introduced to the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland around the mid-1500s, and you can see depictions of unicorns all over Scotland.
And my bedroom.
I've got unicorn posters calendars stickers bedsheets pillows, stuffed animals wallpaper, nightshades.
Right.
Of course, those are just pictures of unicorns, like the ones here in Rainbow Hall.
The one thing we're not seeing are any real unicorns.
You sound like the skeptics during the late 17th century who questioned whether unicorns had magical powers or were even real.
And then there were the scientists that discovered those alicorns everyone wanted were actually horns from rhinoceroses.
In fact, it turns out, rhino horns may have been able to detect poison because they're mostly composed of the protein keratin which is in your hair and fingernails, and animal hooves too.
Poison may have reacted chemically to the keratin in rhino horns.
Aha!
So it was science!
Not magic.
And alicorns were really rhino horns.
Or the tusks of marine animals like walruses and narwhals.
In fact, narwhals are sometimes called the unicorn of the sea.
Right, except narwhals are real.
Has anyone ever proved that unicorns are real?
Well, there are some stories that people, including the famous military leader like Alexander the Great and explorer Marco Polo, claim to see unicorns.
You can find unicorns in famous art, like the unicorn tapestries at the Met Cloisters Museum in New York City, and in great literary works like some of Shakespeare's plays.
But no, there's no scientific evidence proving unicorns ever existed.
Oh, but that's okay.
As a unicorniac, you know where unicorns really live.
Where?
In your heart.
Aw, trusty.
That's so sweet.
And true.
Not to mention, unicorns also live in our imaginations.
I don't have to tell you, Allie, that every April 9th is celebrated as National Unicorn Day.
You mean my second favorite day of the year after my birthday?
The fact is, people love unicorns as both an image and a symbol of rare excellence.
Did you know businesses that become really successful and make lots of money are called unicorns?
And people who are really special and beautiful inside and out are unicorns.
Also referred to as unicorns.
Like you, Allie.
Aw, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever told me.
Hey, there you are.
I couldn't find Bigfoot or any mythical creatures.
I'm starting to think that maybe none of them actually exist.
But I did grab some sweet Pegasus merch.
The gift shop is definitely real.
A magical, mythical shout out to Kendra in Burnaby, British Columbia.
I hear you listen on your drives to and from school and even on weekend adventures.
That sounds like the perfect place for smarting.
Thanks, Kendra.
This episode, Unicorns, was written by Leanne, Fantasyland French, and voiced by Gabby, Alicorn Mayfield, Magical Michael Ursu, and Jerry Kolber.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh, Big Horn Han.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max, Unicornie Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian, Single Horn Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex-Davis.
Who Smarted? was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Kolber.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
