Editing Invisible Pink Unicorn (section)

== History ==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Invisible pink unicorn.svg|thumb|The Invisible Pink Unicorn logo]] -->
[[Russell's teapot]] is an [[analogy]] first coined by the philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]] (1872–1970) to illustrate that the [[philosophic burden of proof]] lies upon a person making scientifically [[Falsifiability|unfalsifiable]] claims rather than shifting the burden of proof to others, specifically in the case of religion.<ref>Fritz Allhoff, Scott C. Lowe. ''The Philosophical Case Against Literal Truth: Russell's Teapot // Christmas - Philosophy for Everyone: Better Than a Lump of Coal''. — John Wiley and Sons, 2010. — Т. 5. — P. 65–66. — 256 p. — (Philosophy for Everyone). — {{ISBN|9781444330908}}.</ref> Russell wrote that, if he claims that a [[teapot]] orbits the Sun somewhere in space between the Earth and Mars, it is nonsensical for him to expect others to believe him on the ground that they cannot prove him wrong. Russell's teapot is still referred to in discussions concerning the [[existence of God]].

The IPU seems to have become notable primarily through online culture: in addition to [[alt.atheism]], where IPU frequently came up in discussions, there are now a number of web sites dedicated to her. An early documented reference to the IPU was on July 7, 1990, on the [[Usenet]] discussion group alt.atheism.<ref name=Gibson1990/> 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 [[ISCABBS|ISCA]] [[Telnet]]-based [[Bulletin board system|BBS]]. The students created a [[manifesto]] that detailed a nonsensical (yet internally consistent) religion based on a multitude of invisible pink unicorns.<ref name=Ashman2007/> It is from this document that the most famous quotation concerning IPUs originated:

{{quote|
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.|Serah Eley<ref>{{Cite web |title=Episode 058 : Serah Eley by Evil Twin Podcast - #EVLTWN |url=https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/evil-twin-podcast-evltwn-37021/episodes/episode-058-serah-eley-1350188 |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=Podchaser |language=en}}</ref><ref name=PolingPoolePoling2003/><ref name=Huberman2006/>
}}