The Truth Behind Myths

When you really think about it, what's more believable: a deer-like creature with a single horn protruding from the middle of it's head or a long necked leopard-moose-horse (aka a giraffe)? Described that way, unicorns do not seem that impossible, especially when compared to an animal that truly is incredible, do they? While some believe that unicorns came from the image of a white rhinoceros being described following expeditions, other literature suggests that potentially the unicorn myth was born from an albino deer with a broken horn or a genetic anomaly in which a single horn was produced instead of two. If you have seen a rhinoceros the thought that a unicorn could have originated from them sounds incredulous, but think about playing the game telephone - the original message is always messed up by the time it reaches the final person, so it would be no surprise that a similar phenomenon is what occurred with the description of the unicorn.

A similar origin is thought to be the source of the jackalope. Interestingly enough, the existence of the jackalope seems to have started in the early 1900s in North America. Described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns, jackalopes were actually feared as they were considered to be aggressive and strong enough to take down a careless hunter. If you are not familiar with the jackrabbit, the genus contains the largest lagomorphs. In case you were not aware, rabbits, hares, and pikas are all lagomorphs and not considered rodents. Their biology is closer to that of a horse than it is to a rat or capybara despite appearing rodent-like. Rabbits and hares have powerful back legs that are capable of stunning or taking out predators altogether. Wild rabbits and hares typically do not live in colonies and will either live alone or in a pair. Unlike most other mammals, the female lagomorphs are typically larger than the males which puts the females in a better position to be both dominant and the better fighters. A typical jackrabbit can reach 24 inches in length and weigh around 9 pounds. That sounds goofy, but it seems there is some truth to this myth as well. A rabbit infected with the Shope papilloma virus will grow horn-like tumors around their heads and other parts of the body. Popularized by taxidermists in Wyoming in the 1930s, the jackalope eventually became the state of Wyoming's official mythical creature. Hence that even now the jackalope is associated with the American west and mounted jackalopes are still popular today. It's amazing how genetic anomalies morphed to become something of legend!

Arbitrage Trade Assist trades for you while you sleep. Check it out today at http://arbitragetrade.com