In Japan, the Imperial Crown has a myth about a sneeze. A powerful ruler once sneezed during a coronation. It was considered a terrible omen. A priest immediately declared the omen was good luck to save the king’s face.
Acheron: Greek Myth's River Of Pain And Passage To Hades
Ever since, courtiers in some ceremonies pretend to sneeze loudly for good fortune. Bless you, history.
The Unicorn Crown Fraud
Medieval kings loved to claim they had a unicorn horn in their crown. They didn’t. It was a narwhal tusk. But everyone believed it was unicorn magic. They sold these “horns” for a king’s ransom.
One king even used a tusk as a royal scepter. Today, we know it’s just a whale tooth. But the magic? That’s real. In our imaginations, anyway.
