Mary Toft and the Rabbit Births

In 1726, Mary Toft, a woman from Surrey, England, convinced multiple doctors that she was giving birth to rabbits. It started when she claimed to have miscarried after being startled by a rabbit in a field. Over the following weeks, she 'delivered' numerous rabbit parts—legs, a cat's paw, and eventually whole rabbits. King George I's personal surgeon, Nathaniel St. André, examined her and declared the phenomenon genuine, writing a 40-page treatise. The king sent another surgeon, who grew suspicious when Toft couldn't produce rabbits under constant observation. Her husband was caught trying to sneak a rabbit into her chamber. Under threat of painful exploratory surgery, Toft confessed to the hoax. She had been inserting dead rabbits and animal parts into her body. The scandal ruined several doctors' careers and made Toft briefly famous before she faded into obscurity.