For those of us who grew up watching the likes of The Last Unicorn, reading Into the Land of the Unicorns, writing in unicorn journals, and sporting unicorn desktop wallpaper, the legend of the unicorn holds a special sort of magic. Even for modern-day adults, there exists a self-development daily devotional called YOU-nicorn which builds upon the wonder and enchantment with unicorns we felt as kids to empower us to become our most unique and thriving grown-up selves.
This month, we released our Unicorn Wearable Skin for Evo. In addition to attaching to a lanyard for taking Evo on-the-go and unlocking special Unicorn sounds and tricks, this enchanted Evo skin fits on top of your bot and instantly transforms it into a unicorn. Below, in celebration of this pair made in programming heaven, we break down four myths about the timeless search for unicorns, and match each one with an equally epic (at least in our minds!) Evo story.
Not To Fear – Unicorns and Evo are here!
For our first exploration into unicorn legend, let’s dive into the quote stating that unicorns remain the “only mythical creature not based on human fears.” Cyclops and dragons and trolls, oh my! One thing pretty much every other beast from mythology has in common is that they are monsters, meant to be slain by the hero to save humanity. Even mermaids who hold beauty and allure turn frightful, what with their M.O. of luring sailors to their deaths in the sea. Unicorns embody the epitome of power and grace but also, and most importantly, goodness. Any being who does not seek to do harm to a unicorn will receive no ill will in return.
Evo, for its part, reminds us not to fear coding—a scary space for some that can be full of bugs in place of beasts. With two fun and easy ways to code (Color Codes and OzoBlockly), Evo poses no threat to those who seek its help with creating! Instead, Evo teaches computer science and STEAM skills and empowers us to make world a better place with our creations.
Appearing to Maidens
Unicorn lore has long stated that the mythical beast only appears willingly to virtuous maidens and the pure of heart. Overflowing with symbolism, people often picture the unicorn with a white coat, representing purity, grace, and kindness. Although the nefarious hunters in stories would try to exploit this trait through setting a trap for unicorns by tying a maiden to a tree, they would inevitably miss out on the greatest gift a unicorn could offer those who sought them with better intentions—friendship and protection from evil.
At Ozobot, we LOVE to encourage and empower #girlswhocode! The pure of heart among modern-day young women can work with Evo to change the world and inspire generations of future coders to come.
Horn of Plenty
The unicorn’s horn has long been sought after for magical properties such as immunity and protection from poison. In recorded history, traders actually marketed narwhals’ horns as unicorns’ and sold them off to royals and noblemen for greater sums than their weight in gold.
Evo’s high-tech components give immunity to ignorance and protection from the lack of problem-solving abilities. Evo has got tech a-plenty!
Rhino, Goat, or Unicorn?
Our final unique myth about unicorns is that they actually aren’t part of mythology at all. People throughout history have recorded their beliefs that unicorns are real. We can only speculate how this may have come to pass. Were storytellers accurately describing a breed of horned donkeys in India, rhinos in Africa (as seen in image above, of a wood carving made in 1515 drawn only from verbal description), or goats pictured from the side so they appeared to be one-horned? Another legend claims that unicorns existed at one time, but became extinct either through hunters’ poaching. Regardless of how we now know the creature that is the unicorn, humans of all ages love believing in its possible existence.
Evo, our very real coding-loving little bot, can transform into all types of different creatures, thanks to our DIY Packs and new Unicorn skin.
Go forth and code to your heart’s content with Evo transformed into its Unicorn form! It’s not finding of a real-life unicorn that’s important, but the belief that magic does exist and the curiosity to learn more. Everyone has the power to believe in the magic of code and the power that comes when we learn to create with technology!
Images: Ozobot, Patricia Prudente on Unsplash, Rhino by Albrecht Dürer [Public domain], Marco Secchi on Unsplash
