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The Dancing Plague of 1518: The Forbidden Boogie
In July 1518, a woman named Frau Troffea stepped into a street in Strasbourg and began to dance. She didn't stop for a week. Within a month, 400 people had joined her in a deadly, non-stop mania that baffled doctors and killed dozens.
In this episode, we break down the strangest mass hysteria event in history, including:
The "Cure" that Killed: Why city officials decided to try to cure the disease in the usual way...more dancing?
The Suspects: Was it Ergot poisoning (moldy bread), spider bites, or extreme religious stress?
The Saint: The role of Saint Vitus and why medieval people thought he…
The skinny
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