Rabbit

Pentalagus

Rabbits in culture and literature

Rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility. It is possibly as a consequence of this that they have been associated with Easter as the Easter Bunny. The species' role as a prey animal also lends itself as a symbol of innocence as an animal that seems to wish harm on no one, another Easter connotation. In addition, the animal is often used as a symbol of playful sexuality, which plays off of its perceived image of innocence, as well as its reputation as a prolific breeder (see Playboy Bunny).

Related Topics:
Fertility - Easter - Easter Bunny - Sexuality - Playboy Bunny

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It is also a common folklore archetype of the trickster who uses his cunning to outwit his enemies. The most common example of this is Br'er Rabbit from African-American folktales; by extension the Warner Brothers cartoon character Bugs Bunny also typifies this image.

Related Topics:
Trickster - Br'er Rabbit - Warner Brothers - Cartoon - Bugs Bunny

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Anthropomorphic rabbits have appeared in a host of works of film and literature, most notably the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; in the popular novel Watership Down, by Richard Adams; and in Beatrix Potter's works such as Peter Rabbit. Rabbits have also appeared in Monty Python's Holy Grail, where the Monster of Caer Bannog, seemingly an innocuous white rabbit, guarded the cave to the Holy Grail.

Related Topics:
Host of works - Lewis Carroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Watership Down - Richard Adams - Beatrix Potter - Peter Rabbit - Holy Grail

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It is commonly believed that a rabbit, if injected with a woman's urine, will expire if the woman were pregnant. This is not true. However, in the 1920s it was discovered that if the injected urine contained the hormone hCG, a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women, the rabbit would display ovarian changes. The rabbit would indeed need to be killed to have its ovaries inspected, but the death of the rabbit was not the indicator of the results. Later revisions of the test allowed technicians to inspect the ovaries without euthanizing the rabbit.

Related Topics:
Pregnant - 1920s - HCG - Ovaries - Death - Test - Euthanizing

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There is a rabbit among the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. See Rabbit (Zodiac).

Related Topics:
Chinese zodiac - Rabbit (Zodiac)

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Rabbit feet are considered lucky and fake rabbit feet are often sold as cheap trinkets. It also often leads to the humourous note that the rabbit itself was not lucky to lose them.

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In Japanese tradition, rabbits live on the Moon where they make mochi - a popular sticky snack. A pop culture manifestation of this tradition can be found in the character known as Sailor Moon, who has "bunny" as a nickname. In Chinese literature, rabbits also accompany Chang'e on the Moon.

Related Topics:
Japan - The Moon - Mochi - Sailor Moon - Chinese literature - Chang'e

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