Mary Toft, The Rabbit Woman

Here is Mary Toft with one rabbit.

Here is Mary Toft with rather a lot of rabbits, as depicted by no less an authority on the peculiarities of his age than William Hogarth.

As The Skeptic's Dictionary explains:

Mary Toft's hoax happened in 1726, during the reign of King George I. Mrs. Toft had inserted the parts of several rabbits where no rabbit parts should ever be and summoned the local surgeon, John Howard. She feigned delivery and the astonished Howard was convinced he'd participated in a medical oddity worthy of widespread notification.

Eventually, King George sent his surgeon, Nathanael St. Andre, and Samuel Molyneux, an astronomer and secretary to the Prince of Wales, to investigate. In their interview with Mrs. Toft, she told them that before her misadventure with rabbit births she had had a strong craving for rabbit meat, she often dreamed of rabbits, and spent much time trying to catch them in the garden. She then repeated her variation on the rabbits-out-of-the-hat trick. St. Andre and Molyneux were so convinced of the worthiness of her effort that they did a scientific examination of one of the rabbit parts. A rabbit lung floated when placed in water. Thus, they concluded - though it is not clear why - that Mary was not tricking them.

She was finally found out though, and prosecuted for fraud, as The British Gazetteer reported on December 24, 1726:

A Prosecution is ordered to be carried on in the Court of King’s Bench, next Hillary Term, against Mary Toft of Godalmin, for an infamous Cheat and Imposture, in pretending to have brought forth 17 præter-natural Rabbits. She is still detained a Prisoner in Bridewell, where none but the Keeper’s Wife is permitted to go into the Room to deliver any thing to her; the infinite Crowds of People that resort to see her, not being suffered to approach her too near, and more especially her Husband, who is strictly ; search’d when he comes to the Prison.

Charges were later dropped, as no one could find a good reason to put someone in jail for pretending to give birth to rabbits.

Via, severally, BibliOdyssey, and The Skeptic's Dictionary

Comments

[Jake]

First the parakeet in the snizz and now this...

There's a joke to be made here about coneys and cunnys... but it's late in the day and my brain hurts... I leave it to someone with a fresher mind.

[FilthyCommie]

two words.......one question
horrible infections?

[Richard Gere]

Go on.. Post something about my indiscretion with the gerbil.. You know you want to.. What is it about inserting small animals into one's body that people are so fascinated by ? Gaaawwddd.. get a life, you guys!

[McGehee]

"Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my..."

[CraigC]

That's no fair. I just got home from work. The only reason you got there first is the time difference, Kev.

[JWebb]

...and thus was born the pregnancy "rabbit test."

[gail]

HAH!

[Melissa]

Ha. How odd. And, didn't the rabbits BITE? Or scratch? Jeeze.