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[[:File:Invisible Pink Unicorn.svg|thumb|right|A depiction of the Invisible Pink Unicorn, in the style of a heraldic animal springing.]]

The Invisible Pink Unicorn (IPU) is a parody goddess used to satirize theistic beliefs, taking the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink.[1] This makes her a rhetorical illustration used by atheists and other religious skeptics.

The IPU is used to argue that supernatural beliefs are arbitrary by, for example, replacing the word God in any theistic statement with Invisible Pink Unicorn.[2] The mutually exclusive attributes of pinkness and invisibility, coupled with the inability to disprove the IPU's existence, is intended to satirize what IPU proponents claim are contradictions in properties that some theists attribute to a theistic deity.[3]

History

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thumb|right|The Invisible Pink Unicorn logo used to depict atheism

The IPU seems to have become notable primarily through online culture: in addition to alt.atheism, where IPU still frequently comes up in discussions, there are now a number of web sites dedicated to her. The earliest known written reference to the IPU was on July 7, 1990[4] on the Usenet discussion group alt.atheism. Other sources concerning IPU state that she was "revealed to us" on alt.atheism.

The concept was further developed by a group of college students from 1994 to 1995 on the ISCA Telnet-based BBS. The students created a manifesto that detailed a nonsensical (yet internally consistent) religion based on a multitude of invisible pink unicorns.[5] It is from this document that the most famous quotation concerning IPUs originated:

"Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them." — Steve Eley[6][7]

In 2007, Niamh Wallace wrote that the IPU had gained underground ubiquity as a symbol of atheism.[8]

Mock Theology

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There are humorous mock-serious debates amongst her "followers" concerning her other attributes, such as whether she is completely invisible, or invisible to most, but visible to those who have faith in her (bearing similarities to "The Emperor's New Clothes").[5] Some of these debates are quite elaborate and tortuous, satirizing the disputatiousness and intricacy of many religions' theological debates.[5]

Similar to the Abrahamic devil, the Invisible Pink Unicorn is said to have an "opponent" in the Purple Oyster.[9]

"For I did see my unworthiness in Her sight, for I was a sinner, destined forever to spend existence in the presence of the unholy Purple Oyster, waxing his shell and massaging his most wretched and slimy feet. For lo, the Purple Oyster doth truly have feet, and the legs thereof, and the toes thereof, giving him dominion over all the clams of the seas, and allowing him to go unto the children of men, and tempt them unto destruction." — The Revelation of St. Bryce the Long-Winded (Partial), Chapter One, Verses 9 to 11[10]

Adumbrations of Invisible Pink Unicorn commonly show either a fading pink unicorn, or simply nothing. Images representing "sightings" of her, showing an unremarkable image of a place where the invisible being supposedly was "seen", are also commonly presented as part of the joke. There is an Invisible Pink Unicorn logo that was created by frequenters of alt.atheism and adopted by others, and it is featured on T-shirts, coffee cups, and other paraphernalia. One website selling these items describes them as a subtle means for atheists to recognize one another without giving offense to non-atheists; this suggests that she has become a kind of emblem or mascot for atheists, particularly those who frequent online venues.

Epithets to the name of the Invisible Pink Unicorn in jocular discourse usually follow in brackets: "Blessed Be Her Holy Hooves", "Peace Be Unto Her", or "May Her Hooves Never Be Shod", which in turn are often shortened to "bbhhh", "pbuh", or "mhhnbs", respectively.[11] These epithets recall, and are intended to satirize, the religious practice of adjoining epithets to the names of prophets, most famously Muhammad. (See peace be upon him and Islam and veneration for Muhammad.)

Similar Concepts

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In 1996, a unicorn that no one can see was adapted as a teaching device at Camp Quest, the first free-thought summer camp for kids established in the United States, by Dr. L. Wilson. As reported years later in the July 21, 2006 Cincinnati Enquirer, "Campers must try to prove that imaginary unicorns—as a metaphor for God—don't exist."[12] Richard Dawkins alluded to unicorns in this connection in his 2006 book The God Delusion, writing that "Russell's teapot, of course, stands for an infinite number of things whose existence is conceivable and cannot be disproved. [...] A philosophical favorite is the invisible, intangible, inaudible unicorn."[13]

In Carl Sagan's essay The Dragon in my Garage from his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In the Dark, Sagan uses the example of an invisible dragon breathing heatless fire that someone claims lives in his garage. The supposed dragon cannot be seen or heard or sensed in any way, nor does it leave footprints. We have no reason to believe this purported dragon exists. This raises the question: How does the claimant know that this is a dragon, rather than, for instance, a cat? For that matter, how can we know that the IPU is pink and has one horn instead of three horns, or none at all?[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Angeles, Peter A. (1992). Harper Collins Dictionary of Philosophy. Harper Perennial, New York. ISBN 0-06-461026-8.
  2. ^ Narciso, Dianna (2004-03-01). Like Rolling Uphill: Realizing the Honesty of Atheism. Media Creations. ISBN 1-932560-74-2.
  3. ^ Maartens, Willie (2006-06-01). Mapping Reality: A Critical Perspective on Science and Religion. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-40044-2.
  4. ^ Gibson, Scott (1990-07-17). "'Proof' of God's Existence" (Usenet post). Retrieved 2007-04-10. how about refuting the existence of invisible pink unicorns?
  5. ^ a b c Alex Tufty Ashman (2007-02-08). "The Invisible Pink Unicorn". h2g2. Retrieved 2008-05-08. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Judson Poling, Garry Poole, MS Debra Poling (2003). Do Science and the Bible Conflict?. Zondervan. p. 20. ISBN 9780310245070.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Jack Huberman (2006). The Quotable Atheist. Nation Books. p. 103. ISBN 1560259698.
  8. ^ Wallace, Niamh (2007-12-27). "Female Bonding". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  9. ^ Catherine Leah Palmer. "Fall & Redemption Of The Purple Oyster". Satire & Humour: The Invisible Pink Unicorn.
  10. ^ Simon. "The Revelation of [[Saint|St]]. Bryce the Long-Winded (Partial)". {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  11. ^ See for example [1]
  12. ^ Clark, Michael D. (2006-07-21). "Camp: "It's Beyond Belief"". The Enquirer. Retrieved 2006-08-16.
  13. ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). "The God hypothesis: the poverty of agnosticism". [[The God Delusion]] (Trade paperback ed.). Kent: Bantam Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 9780593058251. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  14. ^ Sagan, Carl. The Dragon In My Garage. ISBN 0-345-40946-9. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Invisible Pink Unicorn.

Category:Agnosticism Category:Atheism Category:Unicorns in fiction Category:Freethought Category:Humor Category:Religious parodies and satires Category:Criticism of religion Category:Nontheism

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