1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to you stuff you should know from house stuff 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,600 Speaker 1: Josh Clark. There's Charles W Chuck Bryant, and there's Jerry 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: over there. Stuff you should know. I'm just so sick 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: of my voice right now. I just looked over almost 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: a check to see if Jerry was there. Even though 7 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: this room is so small, She's always visible, right. I 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: don't know why I did that. How are you okay? 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: It's a dude, it's my voice. Man, it's driving me crazy. 10 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: So wound up and caffeinated, and we just talked about 11 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: dark money. Oh yeah, maybe we should have recorded that 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: last Maybe he could have just done power lifting for 13 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: the rest of the day. Jim, what do uh? So 14 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: we did an episode. I'm not done talking about power lifting. Okay, 15 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: go ahead, I'm just kidding. I don't want to interrupt you. Uh. 16 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: November we did an episode on collective hysteria? Yes, not 17 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: too long ago. What is collective hysteria? Yeah? And it 18 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: was a good one. Was that a shot at me 19 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: just now? Because I interrupt you a lot? Was what 20 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: a shot that? You don't want to interrupt me because 21 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 1: I interrupt you? It's part of the show. Okay, I 22 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: don't mean to, and I feel badly when I noticed it. 23 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: How do you notice it? I would say six tenths 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: of the time, So three fifths is another way to 25 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: put that. I can live with that. Um, it was 26 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: a good episode, but we did not cover There are 27 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: a lot of cases of mass hysteria, and we only 28 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: covered a small portion. Yeah, we're not gonna go in 29 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: depth about what mass hysteria is. If you want that, 30 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: go listen to that episode, which is a good one 31 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: if I remember correctly. Yeah, we should talk about it 32 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: a little bit, sure, because I think there's stuff in 33 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: here that we didn't even cover about the overall thing, 34 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: or at least it didn't seem familiar to me. So 35 00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: it's also called mass psychogenic illness, collective delusions, uh, conversion disorder. 36 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: What else? Um, no, no no, no, no, no, no, no no. 37 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: You need to duplicate that though with like tin Josh 38 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 1: is doing it at once. That's a good right there. 39 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: Maybe Jerry could do that, she says she can't. It's 40 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: a real thing, though, and basically it is when um, 41 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: people have physical symptoms of something without there being a 42 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: physical cause. Not only that, so that's a psychosomatic illness. 43 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: For a mass psychogenic illness, the psychosomatic illness is catching. Yes, 44 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: it's an epidemic, an infection of imagined illness, that's right, 45 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: which is pretty awesome. Oh, it's amazing. I mean not 46 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: when you're going through it and you're suffering, because the 47 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: people who are suffering are actually experiencing suffering. Yeah, like 48 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: there there. It might be made up, it might be 49 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: all in their heads, but to them it's quite real. Yeah, 50 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: but it is sociologically and psychoical, logically, psychicologically speaking, I'm sick, people, 51 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: so I apologize if I'm not talking good m uh. 52 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: Psychologically speaking and sociologically, it's just like utterly fascinating. Um. 53 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: One thing that happens is is usually triggered by some 54 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: sort of stress, uh, some sort of emotional trigger. Yeah, 55 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:27,239 Speaker 1: and it usually happens in very close knit communities. Um, 56 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: often among young women. They're very susceptible to it, apparently, 57 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: perhaps isolated communities. Yeah, and then communities of people who 58 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: are fairly high on the totem pole and that they 59 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: don't have a lot of social status necessarily or a 60 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: lot of say in their own lives. Um. And they, Uh, 61 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: this is a means of saying there's something very wrong 62 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: in my world. Yes, that's people who study these things. 63 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: That's what they've come up with. Like I've got no voice, 64 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: but I can break out in a rash. I can 65 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: bark like a dog and make you do it too, exactly. So, uh, 66 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: the outcome supposedly for this, for getting over this is 67 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: better in children than adults, even though more children are 68 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: stricken with it, it seems like than adults. But that 69 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: makes total sense, like a kid's more likely to follow 70 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: along with the crowd. But then also be like, what 71 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: were we just having a rash about? Let's go play Nintendo? 72 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: So let's all go play Nintendo because it's I wish 73 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: I had an old any Yes, like the original one 74 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: and a copy of Mike Tysones Punch Out. That's all 75 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: you need. Yeah, I was into the whatever that first 76 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: Mario game was where it was the big world? Mario Brothers? 77 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: Was that a super Mario Brothers? And then Metroid? Did 78 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: you play Metroid? I don't think so. I didn't play 79 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: a ton of Yes, but I played what was the 80 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: first really? Not Sega? Was it the first PlayStation that 81 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: had Street Fighter? No, I think street Fighter. I can't 82 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: remember what it was. I'll remember is that there was 83 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: Genesis maybe head street Fighter. No, I wouldn't say of Genesis. 84 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: This dude I had new in college had a street 85 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: Fighter and uh, Mortal Kombat. Yeah, Mortal Kombat was definitely. 86 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 1: It might have been Super Nintendo or did you play 87 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: Golden Eye? Oh? Yeah, man, that was the first great 88 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: first person shooter. It was so well done. Yeah. But 89 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 1: I just remember listening to Dr Dre's The Chronic and 90 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: playing Street Fighter and that was Mortal Kombat for a 91 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: year solid. And I think I went to school and 92 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: made grades in the classes. In the classes, man, I 93 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: need a nap. You want to talk about semes hysterias? Yes, 94 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: Do you want to talk about nuns in the Middle Ages? Yeah? 95 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: So in in uh, the in medieval times, not the restaurant, no, 96 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: but maybe there too. Um, if you had a sister 97 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: or a niece or a an aunt or somebody who 98 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: was a rightful heir to the estate that you wanted. Oh, 99 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: there weren't mental asylums at the time, so you couldn't 100 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: commit them, but you could have them sent to a 101 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: convent or a nunnery. Wow. So like a brother could 102 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: do that to a sister. Oh, yes, yeah, so you 103 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: could take you could usurp that that inheritance that was 104 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 1: rightfully there's Or if you had a daughter who was um, 105 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: unattractive or possibly disfigured, Uh, you could say, I don't 106 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: want the world to see you, I'm gonna send you 107 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: a comment or a nunnery. And it sounds pretty bad, 108 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: and in a lot of cases it was. But it 109 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: also was a good deal for a lot of young 110 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 1: women because they would get a high quality education. They 111 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: could pursue creative interests like drawing and painting and sewing 112 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 1: or whatever floated their boat outfits. Shore were sure, Um, 113 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: so it wasn't it wasn't all bad. But I was like, 114 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: why did did anybody get sent to convents? And that 115 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: was why to either get rid of them or to 116 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: give them an education that they otherwise wouldn't have had. 117 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: But these these places were very strict and tight knit, 118 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: and so they were ripe for mass psychogenic illnesses. Yeah, 119 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: I bet if you like your daughter like kissed a 120 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: boy that you didn't like, you could you know, if 121 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: you're worried about that. After the convents, after the nunnery Uh, 122 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: so we're gonna talk about a couple of cases with nunneries. 123 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: But uh, in medieval times there were more than one 124 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: hundred cases of mass hysterias breaking out. It happened a 125 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: lot those one in Spain and the fifteen hundreds where 126 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: nuns bleeded like sheep and had convulsions, one in France, 127 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: and four one where they yelped like dogs. Okay, uh 128 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: and then this one in France where uh, all of 129 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: a sudden, one day a nun started me owing like 130 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: a cat. Yes, caught on, caught on like wildfire. Apparently 131 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: in this convent. By within a few days, all of 132 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: the nuns were mewing and it was loud, like the 133 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: neighbors could hear it. Yeah. And not only mewing, but 134 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: it became a mewt in Unison. It became structured with 135 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: their mewing. So for a few hours a day they 136 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: would all get together and meow. That's right. Which imagine 137 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: just like stopping by on your travels because you you 138 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: heard this one convent has really good roasted turkey. Leg 139 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: you show up and you enter into a giant room 140 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: filled with nuns all me owing in Unison. Yeah, that 141 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: one might have been some guy's idea of a good time, 142 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: because you know, you just kind of make a face 143 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: and go help yourself to a turkey leg and kick 144 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 1: back and watch the weirdos meow. Well, here's one of 145 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: the problems though. In medieval times in France, cats were 146 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: not well regarded. They were thought to be of the 147 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: double uh, and so if you're meowing like a cat, 148 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: it's a nun It not good. They also believed in 149 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: demonic possession and um, so they brought in some soldiers 150 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: who said we're gonna whip you and beat you and 151 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: unless you stop me owing. And it worked and they 152 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: stopped me. Right. But that's that's a really important point 153 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: that there is a widespread belief that you could become possessed, 154 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: so in that it provides this platform that removes individual responsibility, 155 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: and that is the basis of this, for the person 156 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: to really experience it and take it away from an 157 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: act of their own will power and rather be a 158 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: sufferer of some weird illness. Is a belief that something 159 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: like this could possibly happen, and so they were possessed. 160 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: Rather than them just me owing and going along with 161 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: the crowd or whatever, they were instead possessed at the time, 162 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: and so their responsibility was removed and therefore they could 163 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: really give themselves over to it. Yeah. I think that's 164 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: the hallmark of mass psychogenic illness. Yeah. Absolute. It also 165 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: happened in Germany, not the me owing, but in the 166 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 1: fifteenth century, and none bit another, none in the convent, 167 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: and then I don't know if that none in turn 168 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: bit another, but they started biting one another a lot. 169 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: And that didn't just stick around that nunnery, It's spread 170 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: all over Germany. Well, they were worried that there was 171 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: like an actual infection going on. Yeah, that would cause 172 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: you to go crazy and bite people. And not only 173 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: did it spread to Germany, chuck, it also spread to Rome, 174 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: even all the way to Rome. Yeah. Um. And then 175 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: apparently they stopped biting when they got really tired. Yeah, 176 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:37,439 Speaker 1: that was the end of that. That seems like a 177 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: very ham fisted follow up, wouldn't you be like that 178 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: was a weird week? Yeah, they probably did. But I mean, like, yeah, 179 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: it's very interesting that mass psychogenic illnesses in and of 180 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: themselves are very interesting. But I'm also interested in the 181 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: transition back to normalcy. How do you how do groups 182 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: that go through that like work that out to get 183 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 1: there or do they just now I don't know, Like 184 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: you said, that'd be totally weird to be like, hey, 185 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: remember last week when we were all me owing. That 186 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 1: was so weird and we're all of our roasted turkey legs. 187 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: All right, maw, let's uh move on to the kissing 188 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: bug scare of eight. Uh try a toman bugs. Uh. 189 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: They looks sort of like stink bugs, but they carry 190 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 1: a parasite that can cause a disease called Chagas disease, 191 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: and Chagas disease wasn't described until nineteen o six or 192 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: o nine, and this kissing bug outbreak was eighteen ninety 193 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: nine in the United States. And a kissing bug is 194 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: called that because they bite you. They feast on your 195 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,440 Speaker 1: blood through your lips, which has only three layers of skin, 196 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 1: whereas the rest of your face has about sixteen layers. 197 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: Can't or your eyelids, sure, so it's easily penetrated, and 198 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: the bug will just sit there and suck on you 199 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: while you're sleeping. But it has a little parting gift 200 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: for you afterward. When it finishes feasting on your blood 201 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: through your lips, it turns around and poops on the 202 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 1: whole that it made on your mouth, and I knew 203 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: that was coming, and in doing so, it can infect 204 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: you with shagas disease. Yeah, no good. If you live 205 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:20,839 Speaker 1: in the upper one third of the United States, you 206 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: don't have to sweat it. Basically, draw a line from 207 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 1: the top of California all the way across the United States, 208 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: and anything below that, um, you might have kissing bugs. 209 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: So by this bug was well known to science already, 210 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,199 Speaker 1: but it wasn't popularly known. So it's an exotic, weird species. 211 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: And a couple of cases of shagas disease did sprout up. 212 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: But what spread this thing and turn it into a 213 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: mass psychogenic illness was newspaper reporting. Yeah, and this was 214 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: This one's a little bit different. It seems like most 215 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: of these cases of mass hysteria were pretty confined, but 216 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: this one is a clear indication of people having uh, 217 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: maybe a mosquito bite or any a bed bug maybe 218 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: and itching at it and then seeing something on the 219 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: news and then saying, oh, no, I got bit by 220 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: the kissing bug, right, and and so part of it, 221 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: part of what it was attributed to. And actually the 222 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: guy who is the head of the entomology for the U. 223 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: S d A at the time said that this was 224 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 1: He called it a newspaper epidemic. And it was because 225 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 1: the newspaper reporting so clearly described the symptoms that a 226 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:32,679 Speaker 1: person's imagination could create these symptoms in himself for herself. 227 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: And so they started collecting bugs. Like if somebody was 228 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: bit by a bug or even saw a bug in 229 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,319 Speaker 1: their house, they'd be like, oh God, a kissing bug. 230 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 1: Catch it and send it off to like the U. 231 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: S d A for analysis. And the USDA got everything 232 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 1: from like houseflies to bumblebees, a lot of bugs from 233 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: people who were worried that they were Um they were 234 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,080 Speaker 1: they'd broken out in this kissing disease. Yeah, And the 235 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: good news is, uh, it stopped when the newspaper stopped 236 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: writing about it. Everyone was like, oh, it's just a bump, 237 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: will be And it happened in the nineties and the 238 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties were really really weird decade. Um, there was 239 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: a lot of death cults that sprang up around the 240 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: around the world. But um, there there was have you 241 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: ever read that book Wisconsin Death Trip? It is crazy, man. 242 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: It's basically this really artful collection of newspaper clippings from 243 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: Wisconsin in the eight nineties and assembled it. It paints 244 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: one of the grimmest, bleakest pictures of humanity ever, of 245 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: of civilized humanity. Just the worst stuff happened to these people. 246 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: They did the worst things to one another. They just 247 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 1: endured so much. And it was a really really good 248 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 1: example of what happened in the eight nineties. Something weird 249 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: happened that decade. You should check that book out. It's 250 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: neat to just look through yet. Uh tomorrow, man, So 251 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: don't tell me anything. So speaking of the which actually, Chuck, 252 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: I want to give a plug to Cinema Jaw. So 253 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: you were on Cinema jaw like a few months back. 254 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: It's a great movie podcast, it is, and Um, I 255 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: was on it recently and their episode that came out 256 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 1: on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday, and we talked about missing 257 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: persons like we did tie into our episode. Um, what 258 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: movies did you talk about? We talked about The Lady Vanishes. No, 259 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: not that one because I haven't seen it. Um, have 260 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: you ever seen The Vanishing? The original one from the eighties, 261 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: the Franco Dutch production that the superior? Right, So I'd 262 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: only seen The Jeff Bridges Keeper Southerland, which I liked, 263 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: but then I started reading up on it and I 264 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: was like, oh, this sucks. Compared to the original Dutch 265 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 1: version of anything before then, it's probably better. It was 266 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: so good, dude. I was watching it via YouTube on 267 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: my TV, so it couldn't have been more grainy. It 268 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:02,359 Speaker 1: was in spoken French with Dutch subtitles, with English subtitles 269 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: have has hazardusly slapped over the Dutch subtitles, and I 270 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: was still like, oh man, this is so good. Good movie. 271 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: It was very good. Well, I can't wait to hear 272 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: that episode. Good check it out and see The Witch tomorrow. Yeah, 273 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: yeah they did. They did a review of The Witch, 274 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: and I put the phone out and just went like 275 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: I could just barely hear that they were still talking, 276 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: and when they finished, I put the phone back up 277 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: for the interview. Yeah, it's good to see horror movies 278 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: and you don't even know if you want to call 279 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: it a horror movie, but movies like that coming back 280 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: with like The Babba Duck, and it follows like people 281 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: are making good quality movies. Now. I didn't like The 282 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: Bubba Duck. Oh man, I thought it was great. A 283 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: lot of people did. It's got high ratings on Netflix. 284 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: All right, well, let's take a break. Maybe we'll just 285 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: come back and talk about movies for the rest of 286 00:16:48,640 --> 00:17:07,159 Speaker 1: the show. All Right, we're back. We're so back to 287 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: talk about the Halifax slasher of ninety eight. Halifax, England, 288 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: not Nova Scotia. That's what I thought at first, Nova Scotia. 289 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: I didn't know there's two Halifax's, didn't neither Um Halifax 290 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 1: in November nineteen Uh, there was a woman named Um. 291 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: Two women, two women, Gerty Watts and Mary Gledhill. We're 292 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: taking a little walk after work at their mill. I 293 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:35,200 Speaker 1: guess they were walking home and they said a man 294 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: came out and slashed us with a knife. Yeah, we're bleeding, 295 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: for God's sake, look at me. Blood, there's blood. Uh, 296 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: go find this creep. Right, that's what they told the cops. 297 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 1: And the cops are like, wa wa wa wa slasher 298 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: all right. So they started looking for the guy and 299 00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: never found any trace of them. And it was like 300 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:00,399 Speaker 1: kind of a thing for a little a while, but 301 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: it really became a thing five days later when another 302 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 1: woman came to the police station and said, look at this. 303 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:11,160 Speaker 1: Some guys just came by and slashed my wrist. Yes, 304 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: that was Mary Sutcliffe and she supposedly fought him off 305 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: even and gave a very clear description of what he 306 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,679 Speaker 1: looked like. So the newspapers are like, I think there 307 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: might be a slasher at large. And within the next 308 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: five days, several more people came forward, uh and came 309 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: to the police station or came to the newspapers with 310 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 1: stories about how they've been slashed by some anonymous stranger. 311 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,719 Speaker 1: And Halifax was f freaked out. They compared the same 312 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: fear and panic to what was experienced during the Jack 313 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: the Ripper era. Um. People were just nervous that that 314 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,360 Speaker 1: somebody was going to slash them. Yeah, the soccer hooligan 315 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: started beating people up like that guy didn't look right. 316 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: He looks like a slasher to me, that's what soccer 317 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: hooligans or a West Ham fan. Let's go take him down, um, 318 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: And it became a real problem. There's a couple of 319 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 1: things though. One these lashes, he wasn't a very good slasher. 320 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: These were all very superficial cuts. Uh. No one was 321 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: severely wounded at all in any of the cases. So, 322 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: but it was still confounding and people are still scared. 323 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:18,119 Speaker 1: He could be a bad slasher, still could improve, So 324 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,160 Speaker 1: we better call Scotland Yard and they did, and Scotland 325 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: Yards sent two detectives and the detectives said, well, let 326 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,160 Speaker 1: us start interviewing witnesses, and the moment they did, they 327 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: found that the witnesses stories just started crumbling. Well, first 328 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 1: of all, none of the descriptions matched, so they thought 329 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: at first, the dumb cops in Halifax thought, well, maybe 330 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: there's multiple slashers. Scotland Yard said, there's not multiple slashers. 331 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: There's not one slasher. They're like they would have known that. 332 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,360 Speaker 1: And Nova Scotia. The final lady Beatrice Sorrel, said, uh, 333 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: they finally, I guess they put the bright light in 334 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: her eyes. And she said I did it myself after 335 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,199 Speaker 1: having a row with my boy, after she discovered she 336 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 1: was pregnant. She had bought a new razor blade and said, 337 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 1: I held hold of the blade in my right hand 338 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: and slashed down my left arm, making a long cut, 339 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: and my Macintosh coat and cardigan. And I know what 340 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 1: you're thinking, it's a waste of a good cardigan and 341 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: Macintosh whatever that is. I think it's a raincoat. Is it? 342 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:21,760 Speaker 1: That sounds about right? Yeah, I think so, Mac the Mac. No, 343 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: I think a mac is a raincoat because the Beatles 344 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: song eleanor Rigby the Mac he never wears a mac 345 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: and the pouring rain very strange. Man, I never realized that. 346 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 1: All right, so Macintosh coat. I hope it's a raincoat. Uh, 347 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 1: then she said. I then put the blade back into 348 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 1: the cut and scratched down my arm twice and put 349 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: my fingers through the cut in the cloth. I saw 350 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:45,439 Speaker 1: that they were covered in blood. The reason why I 351 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: cut my arm was because I was in a temper 352 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: and had been reading in the papers about girls being slashed. 353 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: So she, I guess was in a temper and it 354 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: wasn't just her. Like nine of the twelve victims eventually 355 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: confessed to doing it themselves. Um, and this this, this 356 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,160 Speaker 1: is a weird mass psychogenic illness, you know what I mean? 357 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,640 Speaker 1: Because these people are slashing themselves. They're not like catching 358 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: something they think is is making them dizzy or whatever. 359 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,919 Speaker 1: They're cutting themselves and then going to the police and 360 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,439 Speaker 1: saying a slasher did it. I guess for attention. Maybe, 361 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: well they did get attention. They got attention in jail 362 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: four weeks. Still, if you're like a normal, ordinary citizen 363 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:34,160 Speaker 1: who slashes herself for himself, um, just for attention, four 364 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: weeks in jail, it's going to be a problem. I 365 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't want to do four weeks in jail. Um. The 366 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:43,199 Speaker 1: thing is, Chuck is I could not find whether the 367 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: first two victims were actually slashed at They didn't show 368 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 1: up in as far as I know, they weren't once 369 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: that confessed, and I didn't see that they got any 370 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:58,199 Speaker 1: jail time. So did somebody initially get attacked and it 371 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: led to the slash or scare, or did they do 372 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 1: it themselves or to each other? That's I don't know. 373 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:08,880 Speaker 1: The Halifax carrier on December two said, carry on, Halifax. 374 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,399 Speaker 1: The slashing scare is over. The theory that a half graze, 375 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,680 Speaker 1: wild eyed man has been wandering around attacking helpless women 376 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:21,160 Speaker 1: in dark streets is exploded. Waca waka And I wish 377 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 1: I people talked so much better back then. Um, I 378 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:29,439 Speaker 1: was in a temper Macintosh man. Uh. This is not 379 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:35,400 Speaker 1: the only slasher mass hysteria epidemic. There's one in Taipei, 380 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: Taiwan in the fifties where there's this basically this idea 381 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: that there was a slasher walking around, and this one 382 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,359 Speaker 1: was more akin to the kissing bug thing where people 383 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: who had cuts on them says, you know, you'll get 384 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 1: a cut every once in a while and be like, 385 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: where did I get that cut on my thumb? Right now? Okay, 386 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 1: if you had been susceptible to this Taipei Taiwan slasher scare, 387 00:22:58,160 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: you may have gone to the police have been like, 388 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,399 Speaker 1: I was slashed because and this one was a little 389 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: more legitimate to me. The the idea behind the slasher 390 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,439 Speaker 1: was he would brush past you in the crowd and 391 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: you wouldn't even notice you've been slashed until later. So 392 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: that that was yeah, it was that. That's the better 393 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:21,119 Speaker 1: of the slasher mass psychogenic illnesses between that and Halifax. 394 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: If you asked me, I wonder if Tina fe was 395 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,479 Speaker 1: a part of that. You know, that's how she got 396 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: that scar. Which scar she has a scar on her face, 397 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 1: and uh, she was slashed when she was a kid 398 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: playing in her front yard. She by some random crazy 399 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:38,639 Speaker 1: I didn't know that, and that's kind of all the 400 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: information that's out there. She think admitted that in an interview, 401 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 1: and just that was the story slashing. It's just's a 402 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,639 Speaker 1: terrible crime. Yeah, it just sounds like seeking and disfigure somebody. 403 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: It's like throwing acid on their face or something. Do 404 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:57,359 Speaker 1: you remember that m Saturday Night Live. Mel Gibson was on. 405 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: It was back in the eighties and it was set 406 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:01,880 Speaker 1: in the Old West, and he was like an Old 407 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 1: West like gun slinger. I just think of sheriff. But 408 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: his thing was rather than guns, he threw acid. It 409 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,880 Speaker 1: was like matt acid or something like that. That's fantastic 410 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,199 Speaker 1: it was. And he got a gunfight with somebody, he 411 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: like throws acid on him. And they didn't show that 412 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: the acid being like throwing on the guy. It just 413 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 1: showed the crowd's reaction and they were all like, oh god, 414 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: that's awful. Oh that's great. Don't you hate it when 415 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,679 Speaker 1: you get a scene from a movie in your head 416 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,439 Speaker 1: and you can't pinpoint where it's from. I got one 417 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: right now. There's there's a scene where a guy gets 418 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,359 Speaker 1: slashed and right under the eye as like a parting shot, 419 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: like these students were gonna fight and it doesn't happen. 420 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: They just slashes the guy and the princess pride. Yes, 421 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:56,159 Speaker 1: it is. It's not the Princess Pride. King Humper didn't 422 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: get it or Prince Humper didn't gets it from somebody. 423 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,760 Speaker 1: It's what I'm thinking, Well that happens. Are you sure 424 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:05,199 Speaker 1: there's something When you're thinking, yeah, somebody Old right in 425 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,400 Speaker 1: and tell me. It was like they were faced off 426 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: and we're gonna fight, and then they and the guy 427 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:16,120 Speaker 1: had a knife I think on his knuckle. And then 428 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: at the variant, Oh, I know, Platoon got it. Tom 429 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: Barnger and Charlie Sheen he cuts had had the blade 430 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 1: on his knuckle and he had it right in his eye, 431 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: and he was gonna punch him, and they all talked 432 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:29,840 Speaker 1: him down and right at the very and he just 433 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 1: went slash and slashed him. Well, Platoon and Princess Bright 434 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:39,400 Speaker 1: are virtually interchangeable, the same same story. Good point. So yeah, 435 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: Platoon was a good movie. That was a big college 436 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,679 Speaker 1: movie for me. I'll watched that a lot. All right, 437 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: we're rambling, so that means we should take a break in. 438 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 1: Jerry Old, get us back in order. I think I 439 00:25:50,840 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: said Platoon is a good movie. All right, Chuck, Let's 440 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:30,399 Speaker 1: head on over to uh tangan Yika also known as Tanzania. 441 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,120 Speaker 1: You mean Tanzania, but back in nine two was known 442 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: as Tanganyika and um in Tanga Tanganyika, there was a 443 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,120 Speaker 1: boarding school, a girl's boarding school, so you can understand 444 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 1: what's about to happen there. And some girls started to giggle, 445 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 1: and apparently it wasn't like a happy giggle. It was 446 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,639 Speaker 1: like a nervous giggle, you know, like anxious laughter. And 447 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,920 Speaker 1: it started to spread, Yes, which is normal enough, giggling 448 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,919 Speaker 1: like the church giggle you ever heard of that it's contagious, 449 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: hard to stop. And that's usually if you're in a 450 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,400 Speaker 1: place where you shouldn't be laughing and you can't contain it, 451 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: and then your friends starts laughing and you can't contain 452 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: it and you have to go excuse yourself. Then you 453 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,120 Speaker 1: never go back in the room. So this supposedly lasted 454 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: though for like six months, six months to a year 455 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: and a half, spreading all over the place, depending on 456 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:27,360 Speaker 1: who you ask. Uncontrollable and contagious laughter. Uh, they had 457 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: to shut down the school, yeah, for two months and 458 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: then they're like, okay, surely it's over, and I opened 459 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 1: it back up, started by back up. So this one 460 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 1: bothered me a little bit because you can't just constantly 461 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 1: giggle and laugh, and it's impossible. I read this this 462 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 1: interview with the guy. Um, I read the same one, 463 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: the Chicago Tribune interview. Yeah, so that I think he 464 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: made a pretty good point. He was saying, like, there's 465 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: very there's a lot of misinformation about this. First of all, 466 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:57,920 Speaker 1: it's called the laughter epidemic. So people just think like 467 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 1: it's like the Monty Python, It's Funniest Jokes Kit or something, right, Um, 468 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,640 Speaker 1: that's not the case. It was again, it was not 469 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 1: joyful after it was anxious laughter. And then there were 470 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: plenty of other symptoms too. There was crying, there was pain, 471 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 1: there was fainting. Yeah, Um, and there was definitely laughter. 472 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: And it definitely did spread, but it wasn't just like 473 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: constant laughter. Yeah, and um it did. It did last 474 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: for at least six months, and it did spread to 475 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: other villages because when these girls who were at this 476 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,320 Speaker 1: boarding school away from home were sent home because the 477 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: school was shut down, they actually took it with them 478 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 1: to their other villages, which suggests that the stress that 479 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 1: um kicked this off was not just at the boarding school, 480 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: that it was larger than that. And around this time 481 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 1: Tanzania was had gained independence, so there was a lot 482 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: of anxiety about what the future held. So it started 483 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: at the school where the girls were apparently very challenged academically, 484 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: and then uh, it spread it through the stress of 485 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: you know what, what's the future gonna bring. That's the 486 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,640 Speaker 1: that's the official line that this one linguist has come 487 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: up with. I believe it. That one's not so great now. 488 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 1: I think that's one of the off sited examples though, 489 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:21,959 Speaker 1: of a genuine mass psychogenic illness. You know, because the 490 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: fact that it's spread from outside of a tiny boarding 491 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: school into the larger into villages outside of it, that's 492 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: that's a tense situation. It is very tense. Uh. The 493 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: West Bank fainting epidemic of that spring, about a thousand 494 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: young Arabs in the West Bank started feeling sick and uh, 495 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,240 Speaker 1: Like a lot of these cases, it's like dizziness, headache, weird, 496 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: stomach pains. It's like things that you can't really put 497 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,000 Speaker 1: a finger on as far as tracing it back, like well, 498 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: this must be something. Uh. And so of course because 499 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: of where it was uh. And then these were young schoolgirls, 500 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 1: largely we're twelve to seventeen years old. So because of 501 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 1: where it was in the world, Uh, Palestinian leaders started saying, 502 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: you know what, Israelis are using chemical warfare against us. Yeah, 503 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: because the first kids to fall ill had reported smelling 504 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 1: like a foul odor, kind of like rotten eggs. And 505 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: if you're in that part of the world, you got 506 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: kids breaking out in rashes and and uh, stomach pain 507 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: and blurred vision and they're smelling something funny. That's pretty 508 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: logical conclusion to come to. And so the Israelis countered 509 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 1: back with if there's any chemical warfare being used, you 510 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 1: guys are using it on your own people, so you 511 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:40,560 Speaker 1: can blame us. So these kids fell ill from the smell, 512 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,479 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, Palestine and Israel are like 513 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: publicly going at it, accusing one another of using chemical 514 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 1: warfare on their own on Arab kids. This is a 515 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: big deal. When this happened, it was a big deal, 516 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 1: and it could have escalated to who knows what, But um, 517 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: the fact is there was nothing going on at all. 518 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: It was another case of mass collective hysteria. They closed 519 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: schools in the West Bank. Um, no one else got sick. Uh. 520 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: They've they've searched all the buildings and the schools, and 521 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: they found no chemical residue, no mouthfeasance going on whatsoever. 522 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: They found a smelly bathroom, though, and they think that 523 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: might have been the source of the initial foul smell 524 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 1: that kicked it all off. A stinky bathroom. Some boy 525 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 1: uh went into the hurt locker. He logged out. That 526 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: was a reference to a listener mail, by the way, 527 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: I know, and somebody else wrote in the best one 528 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: in my opinion, logged out. I was like, you want 529 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 1: logged out for taking a poop? I gotta go log out. 530 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: Oh that's okay, I got it. Well, that's pretty good. 531 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: It is good. It does relevant. It's like that Simpsons. 532 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: I think I just logged onto my internet. Do you 533 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,640 Speaker 1: remember was that Ralph? No, it was m Carl went 534 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: back when they were kids when they can't fig about 535 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 1: why Homer's having a mental breakdown. It's because he discovered 536 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 1: a dead body years ago and then repressed the memory. 537 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: And Carl's talking about the interneting on his bathing suit. 538 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: And then later on he goes, I think I just 539 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 1: logged onto my internet. So great. They blamed the West Bank. Uh, 540 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: fainting epidemic on stress and anxiety. Uh. And then of 541 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: course there were news reports of the toxic gas and 542 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: so that's why it's spread. And Chuck, we can do 543 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 1: this all day, but we're not going to. Let's bring 544 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 1: it home with one more so. In Portugal, in May 545 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 1: of two thousand and six, there was a teen soap 546 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: opera called Save by the Bell, called Morongos calm asuka. 547 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 1: That's my Portuguese. What do you think? Pretty good? I 548 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: mean strawberries with sugar. It was the name of the uh, 549 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: the the teen show Delicious, And in May of two 550 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: thousand six, the show aired an episode where this mysterious 551 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,240 Speaker 1: illness was striking kids down left and right, and the 552 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: source of the disease was at school. It was being 553 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,240 Speaker 1: spread at school. It was a virus, and all of 554 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: a sudden, kids in the real world who were watching 555 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,680 Speaker 1: strawberses Sugar started to come down with a very strangely 556 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,680 Speaker 1: similar disease. Yeah. Um, I don't know if we said 557 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: it was in two thousand and six. All right, well, 558 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 1: let's drive that home because that was a big year. Um. 559 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,120 Speaker 1: Was that the year we started our show No. Two 560 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: thousands seven eight, But we've added since two thousand eight. 561 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 1: That's crazy year eight man, who knew that we would 562 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:46,760 Speaker 1: one day be veterans of a medium old veterans like 563 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,080 Speaker 1: we were good around on our porch or their Confederate 564 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:54,480 Speaker 1: pistols under our blankets. That's right. Uh So these kids 565 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,960 Speaker 1: were not only at one school, they were at fourteen 566 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 1: different schools around the country, which was a little different 567 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,400 Speaker 1: than most cases because usually it's like it starts in 568 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:07,360 Speaker 1: this one school. But that's because the clear cause of 569 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,919 Speaker 1: this was this television show that kids loved all over 570 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: the country. The yeah, was this episode of a TV show. Absolutely, 571 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 1: and luckily the Portuguese authorities health authorities, they did some 572 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 1: investigating and they figured out that this is mass psychogenic illness. 573 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:30,120 Speaker 1: Pretty interesting stuff, and they said, what, the kids are 574 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:33,400 Speaker 1: really stressed about our final exams? Well, they think it 575 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:37,359 Speaker 1: started with some kids who had actual allergies and had 576 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,719 Speaker 1: seen this episode and started worrying that their own allergies 577 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 1: were actually symptom of a disease that spread the kids 578 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 1: who were basically going along with it be out of 579 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:50,480 Speaker 1: stress from exams. Yeah. The good thing about this one 580 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,560 Speaker 1: is because it was two thousand six, you can go 581 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,000 Speaker 1: on the internet and look at their articles. You can 582 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: log onto your internet. You can log onto your internet 583 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,239 Speaker 1: and look up art articles that are like is the 584 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 1: strawberries with sugar virus? Real? Like people were writing into newspapers. 585 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 1: You know, my kid is having these symptoms, Like is 586 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:09,600 Speaker 1: it a real thing? Did they or did they just 587 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:11,359 Speaker 1: make this up? And it still goes on? I mean 588 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,720 Speaker 1: apparently this these So there's two kinds. Basically, there's motor 589 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,680 Speaker 1: um illness and then there's anxiety. And anxiety is more 590 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:22,920 Speaker 1: like fainting, upset, stomach headache, motors where you're twitching and 591 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: mowing and stuff like that. Um. But there's supposedly hundreds 592 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 1: of these cases around the world every year. They happen 593 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,680 Speaker 1: a lot. Maybe it'll come to your town if you're lucky, 594 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,320 Speaker 1: join right in. I say, yeah me, Allen, bite the 595 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 1: night away, let it loose for a week. Uh. If 596 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,800 Speaker 1: you want to know more about mass hysterias, go listen 597 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,719 Speaker 1: to what is collective hysteria or other episode and then 598 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:46,840 Speaker 1: uh you can search for mass hysteria also in the 599 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: search part Houston works dot com. Since I said also 600 00:35:49,719 --> 00:35:53,560 Speaker 1: it's time for your listener mail, I'm gonna call this 601 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:57,120 Speaker 1: long overdue. I printed this one out months ago and 602 00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: told Georgia that I was going to read it and 603 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 1: for god, it's about the fairy tales. Hedge Hedge. My 604 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 1: name is Georgia. I live in Stockholm. Hedge, I think 605 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:17,040 Speaker 1: hatch hedges. Hey, hey, sure in Swedish. Uh, Stockholm Swedie. Yes, 606 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,000 Speaker 1: we did another good episode on Stockholm. Singer right that 607 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,040 Speaker 1: a k a. The Swedish Delight. Sure, that's what the 608 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,799 Speaker 1: cops call it. He's got the sweih del My name 609 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:31,800 Speaker 1: is Georgia and I live in Stockholm. I've been listening 610 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:33,480 Speaker 1: to your show for a few years. I love it. 611 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,200 Speaker 1: I recently listened to the Dark Fairy Tales episode and 612 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,560 Speaker 1: I asked my husband about the term ashen put since 613 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:41,879 Speaker 1: he's German and I often used Disney movies to help 614 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,799 Speaker 1: teach me Swedish. Uh. He figured out that it's kind 615 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: of a play on words and implies a scullery maid 616 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:51,160 Speaker 1: covered in ashes. Ashen is ash as opposed to cinder, 617 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,239 Speaker 1: which is incorrectly used in the English name, since if 618 00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 1: you were covered in cinders, you know severe burns. As 619 00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,560 Speaker 1: it is pieces of burning slag. It's true. It is 620 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 1: translated from the French word for ashes, which is cinda. Uh, 621 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:09,759 Speaker 1: puto doesn't exist in German, he says, Uh, I don't 622 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 1: know that sounds so German to me. It sounds pretty German. 623 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:16,760 Speaker 1: But the term for scullion or kitchen helper is ashan brutal. 624 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:20,840 Speaker 1: I'm so glad you took German. So this is the 625 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:24,440 Speaker 1: male form, he thinks, Ashan put it sounds like words 626 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:27,560 Speaker 1: are just growing in your mouth, like you know those 627 00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:29,959 Speaker 1: dinosaurs you can get wet and they turn into giant 628 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,839 Speaker 1: sponge dinosaurs. No, but I do know the little lead 629 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:35,879 Speaker 1: pellets that you would like that would grow into big 630 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,920 Speaker 1: snakes close enough, Those are what are growing in your 631 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:41,640 Speaker 1: mouth when you're saying during the words. He thinks, ashan 632 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:44,960 Speaker 1: puto is kind of a feminine version of Ashan brutal, 633 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:50,319 Speaker 1: since German is nonsensical engendered her words. I hope this 634 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: information is still interesting to you, guys. Her in broad 635 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:58,120 Speaker 1: dog edged hedge headge Georgia, thanks a lot. That was 636 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:03,640 Speaker 1: extraordinarily intelligent listener mail and we appreciate it, agreed. Uh. 637 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:07,040 Speaker 1: If you want to send us an extraordinarily intelligent message, 638 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:09,440 Speaker 1: we love those. You can tweet to us at s 639 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,680 Speaker 1: y s K podcasts. You can join us on Facebook 640 00:38:11,719 --> 00:38:13,919 Speaker 1: dot com, slash stuff you Should Know. You can send 641 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:16,439 Speaker 1: us an email to Stuff Podcast at how stuff Works 642 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,359 Speaker 1: dot com and has always joined us at our home 643 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:25,920 Speaker 1: on the web, Stuff you Should Know dot com For 644 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,360 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Does it 645 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:36,760 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com