Railway Madness & Vagina Dentata: History's Strangest Fears

Can riding a train actually drive you insane? And why have cultures around the world spent centuries telling stories about women with teeth in places teeth absolutely do not belong? This week on The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore two bizarre intersections of history, folklore, psychology, and humanity's most uncomfortable fears. First, we're heading to Victorian England, where a mysterious phenomenon known as Railway Madness had people convinced that traveling by train could cause sudden, violent insanity. From gun-wielding passengers and naked aristocrats to terrified travelers trapped inside moving railway carriages, the strange incidents sparked a genuine nineteenth-century panic. But were trains actually driving people mad, or was society struggling to cope with a world moving faster than ever before? Then, Kat sinks her teeth into one of mythology's most unsettling recurring themes: vagina dentata, the ancient legend of the toothed vagina. Found in folklore from Native American traditions to India, Japan, and Māori mythology, these extraordinary stories explore sexuality, power, reproduction, and death. Along the way, we encounter a goddess with a deadly secret, an unfortunate encounter involving a sword scabbard, real medical oddities involving teeth growing inside tumors, and a controversial modern invention that brings this ancient nightmare disturbingly close to reality. Plus, the great shoes-in-the-house debate, Thailand's unforgettable plus-size clothing stores, and the unexpected dangers of jumbo pants. Strange history. Disturbing folklore. Uncomfortable anatomy. Just another day inside The Box of Oddities. Join Kat and Jethro for another journey into the wonderfully weird, where the truth is often stranger than anything we could invent. Keep flying that freak flag! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices