A Brief History
On November 25, 2013, Claire Suddah asked, “Why Are Women So ‘Bitchy’ to Each Other?” In her article on this subject, she discusses academic efforts to study the way women interact with each other, especially with regard to speaking. In fact, studies show women speak about 20,000 words a day compared to a man’s 7,000. According to a University of Maryland study, this is perhaps due to women having more of a “language protein” in their brains. (Note: Some studies show women to be only slightly more verbose than men.) Anyway, how much is “too much?” Well, too much is when you lose your tongue because of talking, for example. Getting yourself cursed or killed over your big mouth can be considered “too much” as well. Even the Bible has about 4 dozen passages warning against talking too much. Here 10 such gabby gals are listed in alphabetical order.
10. Cassandra, Greek Princess (mythological).
The god Apollo attempted to seduce Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam, by giving her the power of prophecy. When she refused his advances, he cursed her to never be believed. For the rest of her life she would desperately tell people her prophecies, but they, of course, would never listen. (My wife claims a similar curse. How about yours?)
9. Echo, Greek Nymph (mythological).
Echo reportedly loved the sound of her own voice, and was quite a talker. Her active vocals brought her to the attention of Zeus who employed her to distract his wife Hera while he courted other nymphs. Hera figured out this ruse and punished Echo by taking away her voice, leaving her only able to repeat what other people said to her.
8. Martha Mitchell, Wife of Attorney General.
Married to John Mitchell, the U.S. Attorney General under Richard Nixon, Martha was an alcoholic and eccentric woman who could not shut up no matter how hard her husband tried to keep her quiet. After she constantly called reporters and made public comments about the state of the country and every subject under the sun, John Mitchell finally divorced her in 1973. Known as “The Mouth of the South,” she was an embarrassment to Nixon and Mitchell during the unfolding Watergate scandal, and Nixon later blamed her meddling for contributing to his downfall. She died in 1976 at age 57. Ironically, Madeline Kahn who played her in the movie Nixon in 1995 also died of cancer at age 57. In the 1980s, Captain Sensible wrote a song about Martha Mitchell called “Martha the Mouth.”
7. Martina, Empress of the Byzantine Empire.
In the 7th century, Martina married her uncle, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. When he died, she addressed the public and read the contents of his will, a job that was supposed to be reserved for his heir. In the ensuing power struggle, her tongue was cut out, and she could no longer make claims to a throne that was not hers.
6. Monica Lewinsky, White House Intern.
Engaged in a clandestine sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton, Monica was supposed to keep their affair secret. Unfortunately, Monica made the mistake of telling her “friend” Linda Tripp about it in phone calls taped by Tripp. The ensuing scandal impeded the function of the Federal Government for over a year and resulted in Clinton being impeached. It also resulted in public humiliation and an everlasting stigma for Monica.
5. Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the U.S.
In 1984, while President Reagan was questioned about weapons control, Nancy was heard saying to him, “Tell them we’re doing everything we can.” Reagan gave that answer into the microphone, causing embarrassment to a presidency rumored to be a puppet regime that was being run behind the scenes by the First Lady who got her own advice from psychics and astrologers.
4. Natalia Lopukhina, Russian Courtesan.
In 1743, Natalia Lopukhina and the Empress Elizaveta were at odds with one another, perhaps because Elizaveta was jealous of Natalia’s beauty and influence at court. In an effort to remove her, Natalia was accused of slander and sedition. Her punished included being stripped naked and flogged before having her tongue publicly torn out. She was then sent off to Siberia but returned to St. Petersburg upon the death of Elizaveta in 1762.
3. Natalie Maines, Dixie Chick.
At the height of the Dixie Chicks’ popularity, group member Natalie Maines opened her mouth to talk instead of sing. Her famous comment about being embarrassed to be from Texas because of George W. Bush angered the group’s largely conservative country music fan base and resulted in boycotts of their concerts and albums. The group continued to perform but never with the same success again. An ongoing feud with singer Toby Keith did not help their popularity either.
2. Philomela, Princess of Athens (mythological).
Living in Thrace and missing her sister in Athens, Philomela traveled with Tereus, King of Thrace, as an escort. Along the way, Tereus, who was older, took a shining to his charge and raped the young lady. He told her not to tell anyone about the incident, but she refused, so he cut out her tongue to silence her. Now unable to talk, Philomela still found a way to tell her tale in the form of a tapestry. Tereus’ transgressions enraged his wife, who then boiled her own son and fed him to the King. The gods then turned Philomela into a Nightingale.
1. Rhipsime, The Armenian Virgin.
In the late 3rd century, Rhipsime was a member of a group of virgin nuns. When she had the audacity to reject the advances of Tiridates III, the King of Armenia, he had her tongue cut out. Just to be sure he made his point, the King also had her blinded, disemboweled and cut into pieces. For her dedication to Jesus Christ, she was later made a saint by the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic and Orthodox Christian Churches.
Question for students (and subscribers): Who would you add to the list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Feldhahn, Shaunti, Barb Larimore, and Walt Larimore. His Brain, Her Brain: How Divinely Designed Differences Can Strengthen Your Marriage. Zondervan, 2008.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6377 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=6377">2 Comments
Why does everyone need to have their tongue cut out? Why couldn’t they of been gagged for the rest of the day or just have them removed from the room. It just seems extreme to cut out someones tongue.
The premise of the list is offensive. Whatever Margearet Mitchell’s personal problems, she knew how crooked her husband and the president were, and it is to her credit that they could not shut her up.
The Dixie Chicks sold out everywhere they played after expressing their patriotism. They did not suffer a bit from pointing out the obvious.