Folklore of birthmarks
Subject in Society & Culture
Folklore of birthmarks has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including Stuff You Should Know. 1 person has made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Josh ClarkCo-host of Stuff You Should Know
Clark says Russian nobility from the 17th to 19th centuries proved their status by displaying birthmarks, which he finds plausible given possible heritability.
“From the 17th to the 19th centuries, if you were Russian nobility, you proved it by displaying your birthmark”
Stuff You Should Know: Selects: Birthmarks: Probably Not the Mark of the Devil (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 43:57
Clark says that because birthmarks were unexplained, societies worldwide blamed them on something the mother did during pregnancy.
“all over the world, people, societies have said it's something the mom did while she was pregnant”
Stuff You Should Know: Selects: Birthmarks: Probably Not the Mark of the Devil (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 39:55
Podcasts
- Stuff You Should Know · 1 episode
Episodes
Selects: Birthmarks: Probably Not the Mark of the DevilStuff You Should Know · Jun 20, 2026 · 50 min
Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant explain the types, causes, treatments, and folklore of birthmarks, plus a listener's list of band names from past episodes.