2007-02-25 08:44:21 · 15 answers · asked by mstupac149 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
It isn't true. The phrase "the rabit died" came from the old test for pregnancy:
The rabbit test was an early pregnancy test developed in 1927. It consisted of injecting the tested woman's urine into a female rabbit, then examining the rabbit's ovaries a few days later, which would change in response to a hormone only secreted by pregnant women. The hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), is produced during pregnancy and indicates the presence of a fertilized egg; it can be found in a pregnant woman's urine and blood. The rabbit test became a widely used bioassay (animal-based test) to test for pregnancy. The term "rabbit test" was first recorded in 1949 but became a common phrase in the English language.
Modern pregnancy tests still operate on the basis of testing for the presence of the hormone hCG. Due to medical advances, use of a rabbit is no longer required.
It is a common misconception that the injected rabbit would die only if the woman was pregnant. This led to the phrase "the rabbit died" being used as a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test. In fact, all rabbits used for the test died, because they had to be surgically opened in order to examine the ovaries. While it was possible to do this without killing the rabbit, it was generally deemed not worth the trouble and expense.
2007-02-25 08:52:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is a myth, BUT years ago there was a pregnancy test that used a rabbit to test the hormones a woman was producing. The only way to judge the reaction was to kill the rabbit and see if the ovaries were enlarged.
2007-02-25 08:48:26 · answer #2 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's totally true. Invisible beams of fertility-energy from the pregnant woman interact with the rabbit's own prodigious fertility energy, rather like "crossing the beams" in Ghost Busters, causing the rabbit's life essence to spiral in on itself. The rabbit feels the growing hollowness of its soul and eventually ends its life by developing a fast-moving brain cancer rather than surrender to the inevitable oblivion.
2007-02-25 15:50:40 · answer #3 · answered by Rachel R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its a myth. I got a rabbit for Christmas and my sister was pregnant in November and my rabbit is fine.
2007-02-25 08:48:53 · answer #4 · answered by Shy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rabbits used to be killed to make pregnancy tests, so the expression was "The rabbit died." They aren't used that way anymore, so its just an old expression.
2007-02-25 08:47:22 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This question has been answered by Bozemo and others, it refers to a now defunct pregnancy test.
One day when I returned home my son and his girlfriend were standing on the front porch looking really worried, I ran to them and asked "What's wrong?". My son sat down on the steps and looked up at his girlfriend and said: "The rabbit died..." I went into a mini-panic until he said: "Yeah, we were on the highway and it just conked out." Phew!
2007-02-25 08:56:13 · answer #6 · answered by Leslie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 'rabbit test' is not if the rabbit lives in the home. It is if the rabbit is exposed to the woman's urine. If he dies, she is prego.
2007-02-25 08:47:37 · answer #7 · answered by Here2Help 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
i have never heard that before, but when i was younger we went to get my mum from the hospital with my brand new little sister and when we got home the rabbit had died un expectantly coincidence???
2007-02-26 01:13:41 · answer #8 · answered by chocchip24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's only true if the pregnant woman really enjoys eating rabbit.
2007-02-25 08:49:27 · answer #9 · answered by Rhuby 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
no....not unless the rabbit is used for the stew for the pregnant woman.
2007-02-25 08:51:51 · answer #10 · answered by iris 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋