In 1726, Mary Toft, a poor clothier's wife from Godalming, Surrey, deceived three of England's most distinguished medical men—including King George I's court surgeon Nathaniel St. André—into believing she had given birth to 16 rabbits over six weeks. The hoax was exposed when a porter was caught smuggling a rabbit into her room, revealing that Toft had been manually inserting rabbit parts between examinations. This case illustrates how 18th-century medical ignorance, combined with the doctrine of maternal impression (the belief that a pregnant woman's sensations could shape the fetus), enabled a deliberate deception to succeed despite multiple expert examinations.
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The Woman Who Gave Birth To 16 Rabbits And Fooled The King's Surgeons #oddhistory #unsolvedmysteriesAdded:
A woman gave birth to 16 rabbits in 1726 and [music] fooled the King's surgeons.
Her name was Mary Toft, Godalming, Surrey, a poor clothier's wife. John Howard, a local doctor, said he had delivered nine rabbits from her. King George I sent his court surgeon, Nathaniel St. [music] Andre. St. Andre delivered three more rabbits himself. He published a pamphlet defending her. The King sent [music] a second surgeon. He grew suspicious and said nothing. A third doctor moved her to London.
>> [music] >> He threatened painful surgery to settle it. A porter was caught smuggling a rabbit into her room. She confessed. She had been inserting them herself. Why did the doctors believe her? Follow for more strange history.
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