15 Completely Bonkers Ways People Used To Try To Control The Gender Of Their Baby

Men who only sort of wanted a boy could drink cola, but the truly committed took even more drastic actions. According to an 18th-century French text, The Art of Boys, the best way to guarantee a male baby was to cut off the left testicle. The left side was clearly where girls came from, so once it was gone, a man was biologically incapable of having a girl. 

Of course, this theory was completely wrong. The men who did self-castrate were probably very disappointed!

One of the most revered medical authorities in history, the ancient Roman Galen, claimed that placing a black ribbon on a woman’s left foot would lead to the conception of a girl. He also warned about the power of parsley. If parsley is placed on a pregnant woman’s head without her knowledge, her baby’s sex will be determined by the first person with whom she speaks. Men who really want sons could hide out with parsley waiting for the right moment.

Galen also suggests rubbing a woman’s body with goose grease for two days and then copulating the next day – this will certainly result in a boy. 

Sex-selection theories are nothing new in human history. As early as 2000 BCE, people were writing down tips for controlling the sex of your baby. An Egyptian papyrus written 4,000 years ago said that women with a greenish cast would certainly have boys.

Once you’ve found a green-skinned woman, she can perform a pregnancy test that will predict the sex of her baby. She should urinate on emmer and barley, and if the barley grows, she is pregnant with a boy. 

The Trotula, a 12th-century medical text, had some interesting advice for women who want to conceive a male child. “Let her husband take the womb and the vagina of a hare and let him dry them, and let him mix the powder with wine and drink it.”

But before you start stalking rabbits, keep reading. “Let the woman do the same thing with the testicles of a hare, and at the end of her period let her lie with her husband and then she will conceive a male.” This advice is clearly only for people who are really serious about having a son.

Until the 17th century, many believed that the direction of the wind or even the direction of the bed controlled the baby’s sex. Arrange your bed in a north-south direction to have a boy, recommended the Hebrew Talmud. And the wind theory claimed that a north wind at the moment of conception would guarantee a boy, while a south wind meant a girl. If it was too difficult to make sure the winds were correct, you could always ask a friend to help out. 

One 19th-century theory said that the time of day would determine the sex of the baby. Girls were more likely to be conceived in the afternoon, while boys were conceived at night. This theory even warned prospective parents to pay attention to the calendar: girls were conceived on even days of the month, while boys were conceived on odd days. 

Of course, another theory said that couples who got frisky under a full moon would conceive a girl.