In the summer of 1518, the streets of Strasbourg were overtaken by a strange and terrifying sight. It began with a single woman, Frau Troffea, who stepped into the cobbled streets and began dancing with a frenzied energy that no one could explain. She moved without pause, as if possessed, her feet pounding the ground from sunrise to sunset. Days passed, and her dancing didn’t stop. Stranger still, others joined her—one by one, dozens of townspeople were swept up in the madness, unable to control their bodies as they danced through the streets.

Within a month, the number of dancers had grown to over 400. The city was in chaos. Men, women, and children danced without rest, some collapsing from sheer exhaustion, others succumbing to heart attacks or strokes. Local physicians, baffled by the spectacle, declared it a case of "hot blood," a condition they believed was caused by an overheated mind and body. Their solution? More dancing. Stages were erected, musicians hired, and the afflicted were encouraged to dance until the madness burned itself out. But the more they danced, the more the plague seemed to spread.

The event remains one of history’s greatest mysteries. Some believe it was a case of mass hysteria, a collective reaction to the severe hardships of the time—famine, disease, and fear. Others suggest ergot poisoning, a hallucinogenic mold found in rye, might have driven the townspeople to their bizarre, uncontrollable movements. But despite the many theories, the cause of the Dancing Plague of 1518 remains an enigma, a chilling reminder of how the mind and body can spiral into the inexplicable.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1LwtyNbh7s

A pointless irrelevant very interesting post that made me go do some learning.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_plague_of_1518

Thank you.

Good job, keep it up!