Unicorn

I’m a unicorn. On Saturday, I received my second dose of the covid vaccine (Moderna). I was a little ill on Saturday night with chills and a short fever. On Sunday I was okay, but a little tired and light-headed.  By Monday, I had developed a covid arm.

Have you heard about covid arms? It is something that is mostly associated with the Moderna vaccine and happens a couple days to a week after receiving the shot. It is a swollen red area around the injection site. Mine is also warm and a itchy. But, don’t worry, it is completely harmless. If I am understanding it correctly, it shows that I have a strong immune system.

Covid arm is a rare symptom of the vaccine. However, two of my coworkers also had similar symptoms. The word unicorn is often used to describe a unique or special person. Even though I said that I am a unicorn, I don’t think that having a reaction to the covid vaccine qualifies as a unicorn. Unicorns are highly desirable.

Example: He is the kindest person I know. He is truly a unicorn. 

Unicorn does not have to be applied to humans. It can also be used to talk about things that are unique, rare, or valuable.

Example: Truth is a unicorn in Hollywood. 

Of course, the metaphoric meaning of unicorn comes from the mythological horse with a horn. The idea of unicorns has been around since the Romans, but the word did not appear in English until is was borrowed from French around 1200 AD. Unicorns do not exist as we know them today, but they might have been inspired by rhinoceroses, narwhals, aurochs, or elephants. Rhino hors and elephant tusks (long teeth) were turned into cups and sold as unicorn cups. People believed the cups had special powers.

The story I find most interesting is that European royalty used to buy narwhal tusks from the Vikings thinking they were unicorn horns. You might have noticed that I mentioned elephant tusks are their long teeth. Well, the narwhal tusk is also a tooth. It is not a horn coming out of its head, it is a long tooth! Nature is crazy. It could be worse: the babirusa has tusks that will grow into their skull and kill them.

See Also:  Long in the tooth, Special Talent, ubuntu

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Reference:
https://www.healthline.com/health/adult-vaccines/covid-arm
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/rare-covid-arm-phenomenon-a-harmless-immune-response-to-vaccination-experts-say-1.5298613
https://www.dictionary.com/e/unicorn-word-trends/
https://www.history.com/news/unicorn-horns-royal-protection-poison-antidote