The Forgotten Plague Where Thousands of People Couldn't Stop Dancing Until They Died
The BrainFood ShowShow Notes
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we skip the quick fact because this one took forever to research and put together and I ran out of time. Instead we jump right into the main topic which is a very real phenomenon that popped up off and on for several hundred years called Dance Mania or St. Vitus’ Dance. While it might sound like a bit of a joke, it was surprisingly deadly at times and had a fascinating cure.
We then look at the probable cause of this phenomenon, along with many other similar ones, including a couple in modern times, that all seem to have the same root. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The BrainFood Show
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Although you might assume that being made to wear a stupid costume, be mocked, and act like an idiot for the entertainment of fatuous rulers would be a job nobody would want- like the position of Groom of the Stool (a job which initially consisted of directly supplying the necessaries to facilitate a good and clean bowel movement to the King, as well as to monitor said fecal matter and make dietary recommendations based on what you saw there)- the position of court jester was actually an enviable one due to it involving spending so much time with those in power. And as you were often putting them in good humor and otherwise making them happy, it was a position that came with a whole slew of perks. So what was life actually like as a court jester?
Ever wonder why Austria agreed to give up its sovereignty so readily to Nazi Germany without any semblance of a fight?
In the video today, we're looking at How Do German Schools Teach About WWII? How Do the Japanese Teach About WWII? Why Wasn't There an Italian "Nuremberg / Tokyo War Crimes" Trial After WWII? How Did Germany DeNazify So Quickly After WWII. How Do They Teach the American Revolution in Britain? How do Arabic Nations Teach the Crusades? How Do British Schools Teach About the British Empire? How do The Persians Teach Alexander the Great and When in History Did He First Become Great?
The likes of renowned aerospace engineer Burt Rutan’s Voyager aircraft, which successfully completed the world’s first nonstop, unrefueled aerial circumnavigation of the globe in December of 1986 in flight for a little over 9 days, or Rutan’s Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer which did the same thing in 2005 in just 2 days and 19 hours, are feats that make the news rounds the world over. However, as impressive as these pioneering flights were, they pale in comparison to the true record for aerial endurance that the media seems to have forgotten, set all the way back in 1958, not using any specially designed, ultra engineered, high tech plane, but a simple Cessna 172, which the pilots of managed to keep in the air, and lived in, for an astounding 64 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes without ever touching the ground once.