Post #1664683
2026-04-20 13:25 UTC
In 1985, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus premiered the Living Unicorn, a surgically modified goat that drew crowds and controversy wherever it appeared. I saw it. Today I am taking a look at how a creature of myth was made and marketed to the public.
https://www.retroist.com/p/the-living-unicorn-at-the-circus
Replies (3)
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@64bithero@mstdn.games 2026-04-20 13:37
@retroist@mastodon.social This seriously existed , I am mortified
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@Saxonbowman@zirk.us 2026-04-20 14:01
@retroist@mastodon.social We took the kids to see that show. Once the "unicorn" came out it was immediately obvious to me that it was a goat. The kids, being young, didn't care.
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@ChrisShadowens@metalhead.club 2026-04-20 17:37
@retroist@mastodon.social I remember seeing ads for this run of Ringling Bros one summer while visiting SoCal. I remember thinking it'd just be a horse with a fake horn, of course. Nope, it was a one-horned goat (I forget how I eventually saw it...was it shown in the ad?) I didn't realize it was surgically altered, I just assumed it grew that way, like that cow with the "Mickey" spot on its side.