28. The Viral Dance Marathons
The 1920s and 1930s had their fair share of strange viral pastimes. One such was marathon dancing. Those were endurance events, in which couples competed with each other, with prizes for whichever duo had the legs to dance until they outlasted the rest. This odd pastime started in 1923, when a woman named Alma Cummings outlasted six partners as she danced for 27 consecutive hours at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. That inspired others, and dance marathon contests quickly spread across America, as competitors tried to break Cummings’ record.
The competitions became spectator events, publicized in the press and hyped up by promoters and sponsors. However, the happy-go-lucky Roaring Twenties ended with the stock market crash of 1929. In the ensuing Great Depression, dance marathons took on a sadder and grimmer tone. What had once been competitions driven by a desire to break records, now took on a bleaker cast with dancers desperate to win prize money. Even if they lost, they would at least spend a few days out of the elements, with free meals and a roof over their heads.
