The Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic

03/02/25 • 25 min

Join Kelli as she goes over the history behind the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic, an event that started with three schoolgirls in late January 1962 and spread to nearby villages. It took roughly 18-24 months for the epidemic to finally stop, and luckily, nobody died.

It was determined that this was a case of mass psychogenic illness - the more modern name for "mass hysteria."

But how did it start? Why schoolgirls in Tanganyika in early 1962? Let's look to the historical context to get an understanding of what happened here and why.

And a special thanks to one of my cannibal patrons, Zack, for recommending this episode!

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Intro and Outro music credit: @nedricmusic
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It was determined that this was a case of mass psychogenic illness - the more modern name for "mass hysteria."

But how did it start? Why schoolgirls in Tanganyika in early 1962? Let's look to the historical context to get an understanding of what happened here and why.

And a special thanks to one of my cannibal patrons, Zack, for recommending this episode!

Support the show

Previous Episode

The Guatemala Syphilis Experiments

Join Kelli as she goes over another case where the US government experimented on humans - but this time, they purposefully infected Guatemalans with syphilis, taking what happened with the men of Tuskegee a whole step further.

So today we'll do some historical context to figure out why Guatemala - what happened in history that led to such a level of interventionism that the US government would conduct medical experiments on the Guatemalan people?

Once that's squared away, we'll briefly go over syphilis so we have a complete understanding on what the infected Guatemalans faced. Then, we'll talk about the event itself - and how we only just learned about it.

I really hope I run out of examples of the US doing this.

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Next Episode

The 1381 English Peasant's Rebellion

Join Kelli as she goes over the history of the English Peasant's Rebellion, 1381.

The Black Death had severely impacted England - not just in high mortality rates, but also its ability to function within its strict feudal order. To help compensate for the drop in workers, and to try and get the economy back on track, Edward III passes the Statute of Laborers in 1351. But what this did was set in motion a rage against feudalism, government intervention, and inequality that manifested as the Peasant's Rebellion, led by men like Wat Tyler and John Ball, in 1381.

The Peasant army would meet King Richard II in London, and it was an absolute bloodbath.

Let's go over the historical context that leads us to the Rebellion, then the event itself. It's a fascinating story that shows us how far the common folk are willing to be pushed before they break.

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