What the narwhal's tusk is really for 獨角鯨的長牙用來....

Herman Melville, who died September 28th 1891, joked that narwhals' tusks are used to open letters. He was quite wrong: they are actually used to attract mates. (Narwhals with big tusks are well endowed at the other end too.) From the archive:

赫爾曼 · 梅爾維爾，1891 年 9 月 28 日去世，享年開玩笑說，獨角鯨的長牙用來打開信件。他完全錯了: 他們實際上用來吸引伴侶。(獨角鯨的大獠牙好天生的另一端也。)從存檔:

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What the narwhal's tusk is really for

EVER since Europeans began trading the whorled ivory tusk of the narwhal in the 12th century, people have puzzled over its purpose. Early research was hampered...

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