26. When Literally Dancing to Death Went Viral
Bad as dance marathons got, they never got as bad as the viral medieval trend of dancing to death. People often get a tune or jingle stuck in their heads, just can’t get it out, and hum and mumble it on and off for hours or maybe days on end. But what about the next level: how about a dance move that somebody can’t stop? Almost everyone loves a good boogie, but what happens if the boogie is so good that people just can’t quit, and dance themselves to death? That is what the good people of Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France, discovered in July 1518.
That summer, Strasbourg was struck with a dancing mania, as hundreds of people began to dance nonstop, for days on end. By the time the dance fever finally broke, many had literally danced themselves to death from heart attacks, strokes, or sheer exhaustion. It all started innocently enough on a typical July morning, when a Frau Troffea began to dance in the street. Onlookers clapped, laughed, and cheered her high spirits and joie de vivre as she danced. And danced. And danced some more. Frau Troffea danced without a break for six days. Within a week, dozens joined her marathon dance, mostly women.
