The Rabbit Test

[My Good Babushka]

Early pregnancy tests included sprinkling sulfur on a woman’s urine to see if it would breed worms.

The famous rabbit test for pregnancy was developed in 1928. A woman’s urine was injected into a female rabbit, and if pregnancy hormones were present, it would cause the rabbit to ovulate. The popular phrase, “the rabbit died”, meaning the woman was pregnant was misleading because the rabbit always died, as it had to be killed to see the results.

The first home pregnancy test was introduced in 1978. It included a test tube stand with a mirror at the bottom that women had to use to observe patterns in the tube, plus a batch of solutions and a vial of sheep’s blood.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. wow. I did not know that about the first home pregnancy test.

... and a vial of sheep’s blood.