Topic: Laughter Epidemic

1 chapters across the catalog

32: Nocebo
• 29:50 - 32:46

32: Nocebo

Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962

The hosts examine the 1962 laughter epidemic in Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania), where schoolgirls suffered from uncontrollable laughter for weeks, leading to the closure of 14 schools. The discussion links this historical case of mass hysteria to modern instances, such as reported neurological side effects among high school students following the deployment of the Gardasil HPV vaccine in upstate New York.