On this day in 2008, one of our favourite movies, TEETH, was released. This horror movie centres around a young woman who has "vagina dentata" - teeth in her vagina. Vagina dentata myths is common, appearing in South America, India, Japan and Māori mythologies. Here's one myth...

So, you all know and love the movie Moana, right? And you all know and love the demigod Māui? Well, Disney and Lin Manuel Miranda skipped a particular Māui story in the "You're Welcome" song. It involves vagina dentata.
According to Māori legend, Māui tried to secure immortality for humans (you're welcome!) by "reversing" birth via the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-pō.
Hine-nui-te-pō is described as having "in the place where men enter her she has sharp teeth of obsidian and greenstone." This did not put Māui off (you're welcome!)
His plan was to enter the sleeping goddess via her vagina and exit through her mouth. He found her sleeping with her legs open and, seizing the opportunity, turned himself into a worm (you're welcome!)
Into the toothed vagina of goddess of death and guardian of the underworld Māui crawled in worm form (you're welcome!), he was going to do this thing! He was going to secure immortality for humankind!
...except he got baited out by his bird friends. In various versions of the legend, his birds either laughed loudly at the inherent ridiculousness of a demigod crawling into a betoothed vag, or one of them tipped off Hine-nui-te-pō and woke her up.
Either way, Hine-nui-te-pō was not happy with Māui crawling around in her vagina, and so she crushed him to death with her obsidian vagina dentata. Māui became the first man to die, and all humans are fated to meet Hine-nui-te-pō in the underworld. You're welcome!
Anyway, we have no idea why Disney didn't put this element of the Māui story into the movie.

And so, for our fix of vagina dentata myths in movie, we have to crack out the popcorn and watch Teeth (2008) instead.

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OK. Chapter 7 of Book 4 of #WealthOfNations is tough going. It's long. It's serious. It's all about colonies.

We can take comfort, though, in knowing that the chapter #AdamSmith says is about colonies is, in fact, about colonies. (IV.vii) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


Colonies were a vexed subject when #AdamSmith was writing, and they’re even more complicated now. So, before we even get to the tweeting, here’s a link to that thread on Smith and “savage nations.” (IV.vii) #WealthOfTweets


The reason for the ancient Greeks and Romans to settle colonies was straightforward: they didn’t have enough space for their growing populations. Their colonies were treated as “emancipated children”—connected but independent. (IV.vii.a.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

(Both these things are in contrast to the European colonies, as we'll see.) (IV.vii.a.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Ancient Greeks and Romans needed more space because the land was owned by an increasingly small number of citizens and farming and nearly all trades and arts were performed by slaves. It was hard for a poor freeman to improve his life. (IV.vii.a.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

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