When a terrorist began attacking people with knives on London Bridge recently, a man, described in news reports as a Polish chef, at nearby Fishmongers’ Hall, where the incident began, grabbed a narwhal tusk that was displayed by the side of the hall’s doorway and, wielding it like a lance, deployed it against the assailant outside. It was one of the more unusual uses of a narwhal tusk in recent memory.
The Washington Post quotes British historian and journalist Guy Walters on the use of the tusk. “There’s something very British about fighting a terrorist with something as surreal as a narwhal tusk,” he said. “We don’t carry weapons in this country. But we do have narwhal tusks around.”
“The beauty of narwhals is that they were always these really mysterious creatures,” he said. “For centuries no one really knew what they were. When they found these tusks they assumed that they were unicorns. … They became these incredibly sought-after items.”
Narwhal tusks, believed to be the horns of unicorns, have long been perceived to have magical and curative powers. Waters pointed out on Twitter that Queen Elizabeth I was given a narwhal tusk and valued it highly.
A narwhal tusk is not a cheap weapon. One sold in auction for £36,000 a few years ago. Elizabeth I so valued the one presented to her by privateer Martin Frobisher that she placed it in the Royal Wardrobe & Treasury. It was valued at £10,000 in 1598 — some £2 million today.
If humans have managed to find multiple uses for narwhal tusks, what do the narwhals use them for? First, what is the tusk itself? The narwhal’s tusk is actually an overgrown spiralized tooth that grows from the upper jaw through the top of the whale’s head. The tooth/tusk can grow to 9 feet long. It is a unique and amazingly sensitive tooth containing upwards of ten million nerve endings. All these nerve endings must be valuable for something, although scientists are not quite sure what.
But what are the tusks used for? The tusks grow almost exclusively on male narwhal leading some scientists to suggest that the tusks might be useful for attracting a mate. Some have also suggested that the tusks might be useful in breaking through ice.
More recently, drone video has shown narwhals using their tusks to catch food. Rather than spearing their prey with their tusks they slap the water to stun the fish and quickly gobble them up. Here is footage from documentary filmmaker Adam Ravetch of narwhals using their tusks to stun Arctic cod.
And another thing some years ago we the Shanty Crew were booked to sing at Fishmongers Hall one of the old London trade corporations/societies we were positioned at the top of the staircase to sing our shanties alongside us was a glass case which contained the short-sword that had in 1381 killed the leader of the Kent rebels who were protesting about taxes he was killed by the then mayor of London William Waldegrave on Blackheath the event was known as the peasants revolt, we were that close to history.
On the credit side I gather the fellow who had a go first was a Polish pot washer who had grabbed a medieval lance from a wall the lad who chased the attacker with the knives outside this brave Pole suffered a number of knife wounds as he tried to stab the attacker with the lance, outside the chase was continued outside with the whale tusk and a fire extinguisher, very brave people indeed it makes one think aloud.
Those who let it all happen whilst recording the action on their phones so they can sell the recording should hang their heads in shame.
Stupid news called it a “Whale Tusk”, anyone ever seen a whale with tusks?
Anyway, the thing looked about 1.5-feet long, at best.
Good luck with that!
Earlier this year, I looked into buying a Narwal tusk online, forget it!
Price was too high!