The laughter epidemic: learn about the outbreak of hysteria that lasted 2 years

You've probably heard about various epidemics and pandemics, right? But did you know that there was a laughter epidemic? Find out more about this curious event!

After everything we've faced since the beginning of 2020, I believe that the concept of epidemic and pandemic has become something we're more familiar with, right?

And although this type of event is not necessarily new – since human beings have faced several situations like these throughout history, some more serious than others – the COVID-19 pandemic was something that marked us forever and will certainly be a topic for many, many years, becoming a mandatory topic for anyone studying the history of our planet during this century.

But before this event – and very different from the COVID-19 pandemic – there was an event that, because it was on a much smaller scale, many people may not know about, but which had practically the same duration as the pandemic.

We are talking about the so-called laughter epidemic. 

But what was this epidemic that received such a peculiar name? Where did it occur? Did this event end up resulting in fatalities?

These and other questions will be answered in today's content. Throughout the text, we will delve deeper into this historical event and understand a little more about its origins.

Before we talk about the laughter epidemic, let's better understand the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic.

Before we begin our conversation about the so-called laughter epidemic, we think it is necessary to talk about the differences between the terms epidemic and pandemic.

It may not seem like it – since we have just come out of a pandemic – but many people are still confused about what each of them is.

An epidemic is when a group of people in a given location start to show cases of a certain disease. Within the scope of an epidemic there are several levels.

It can be at the municipal level – occurring in several neighborhoods of a given city – state level – when it spreads to several cities in the same state – and national level, where cases of the disease in question are recorded in several regions of the same country.

A pandemic goes even further. In addition to – in most cases – having a much higher severity scale than epidemics, this classification is used when an epidemic goes beyond the borders of the country where it originated, spreading to other countries, continents and, consequently, the entire world.

Now that you know the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic, it's time to talk about this very curious episode that was the laughter epidemic.

What was the laughter epidemic?

Who likes to laugh? I think that when it comes to laughing, it's almost unanimous, right? After all, everyone likes to have fun and laugh until their stomach hurts.

But there are situations where laughing is not a good thing. And the laughter epidemic is proof of that.

It all started in a boarding school located in Kahasha. At the time, Kahasha was a village in a country called Tanganyika, which today has become Tanzania.

At that moment, three girls began to laugh non-stop. The laughter grew louder and louder, taking over 95 of the 159 students there at the time.

This caused the school to close its doors, aiming to avoid any kind of disturbance.

After a few months, the boarding school reopened its doors, but ended up closing again after a month of operation.

The reason: the laughing attack had infected 57 other girls.

At first, the outbreak only affected teenagers, but this changed over time.

As this epidemic did not remain limited to Kahasha, after a while, the epidemic also migrated to Nshamba, the home of the parents of the girls who studied at the boarding school.

The result: more than 200 people out of more than 10,000 inhabitants had fits of laughter resulting from this outbreak.

And the most curious thing is that this outbreak only appeared in females: first teenagers, then mothers and then female relatives who were part of the circle of these young women.

When did the laughter epidemic happen?

The three girls who started this laughing epidemic first showed symptoms on January 30, 1962. 

Soon after, the boarding school closed its doors – as we mentioned here – and, on May 21st, it was closed again, after 1 month of being open.

How did the outbreaks happen?

Since we are used to associating laughter with good feelings, it can be a little difficult to imagine how these outbursts worked.

But according to reports, they were intense. The bursts of laughter lasted for several hours and, in some cases, they repeated up to 4 times a day.

Additionally, there have also been cases where symptoms lasted for 16 days.

How long did the epidemic last?

After two and a half years, the end of this strange epidemic was declared in June 1964. In total, it is estimated that the outbreak affected around a thousand people during this period.

In total, 14 schools had to be temporarily closed due to outbreaks of this mysterious laughing epidemic.

What was the origin of this epidemic of laughter?

This is one of those questions that intrigues those who delve deeper into the case to this day.

Among the suspected origins of this outbreak was some type of toxic reaction and even an outbreak of encephalitis – a brain inflammation – but the results were negative. 

So far, the best explanation for the case is that the epidemic was a case of mass psychogenic illness, the famous collective hysteria.

But the most curious thing about all this is: why did this outbreak only affect women, allowing men who lived in the region – such as parents, teachers and police officers – to go unharmed and not contract the disease.

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