The Dancing Plague of 1518:
Most of the 400 people of Alsace affected by the still-misunderstood mania died from heart attack, stroke or exhaustion. They had been dancing without rest for days.
The Dancing Plague of 2008:
Most of the traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange affected by the still-misunderstood mania went home rich but complaining. They had been dancing without rest for a few hours.
Key concepts:
- mass psychogenic illness
- genital retraction syndrome (or "penis panic")
- ergot poisoning
Curious observation (by historian John Waller):
"... there is no evidence that the [Alsace] dancers wanted to dance ... [they] showed expressions of fear and desperation."
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