In the early 18th century, a woman called Mary Toft claimed to be giving birth to rabbits. In the heady gossip-ridden world of Georgian England, this story was taken up with relish. It dominated the gossip sheets in London. And even made its way to the ear of King George the First.
The king was so intrigued by the thought of a woman giving birth to rabbits that he sent his physician down to the market town of Godalming to meet Mary Toft. And not only was his physician convinced of her story, but helped to deliver a fifteenth rabbit. Then he wrote a book on the topic.
All of which made the king absolutely furious when he discovered the whole thing was a hoax. He fired his physician and Mary Toft disappeared into obscurity.
The aftermath wasn’t good for the medical profession. Doctors were ridiculed as dirty old men. And the fact that the king’s physician was Swiss-born opened the doors to some unpleasant xenophobia. Toft’s motives were interpreted as purely financial tinged with a complete absence of morals.
DISCOVER MORE: Women in history, scandal and myth
One cartoon of the day depicted Mary Toft held aloft by the lascivious male doctors enjoying an examination of her private parts. See that image below. The fact this ever gained any credibility is because of some very odd pseudo-scientific theories circulating at the time. One was the notion of ‘maternal impression’ – that a woman could alter what was in her womb through her thoughts and dreams.
Completely mad but these were the early days of modern science.
This is one of several bizarre stories I’m going to be investigating in a series on my YouTube channel called ‘Weird History Facts’ and I invite you to watch this episode below and enjoy!
