This incident was recorded in Central African Journal of Medicine titled, ‘An Epidemic of Laughing in the Bukoba District of Tanganyika’ in 1963. (Photo: Lisle Boomer/flickr). But laughter is not so simple. All rights reserved. Laughing excessively can lead to extreme elation, cataplexy, and unpleasant laughter spells. Symptoms of those affected lasted from a few hours to 16 days. Such a person is more commonly young than old, female than male, and employee rather than a supervisor. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Christian Hempelmann of Texas A&M University, who has done research on the incident, describes the laughter epidemic as a case of mass psychogenic or sociogenic illness, a malady that has the capacity to strike in a variety of high-stress settings. Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic ADDPMP209 Outbreak of mass hysteria – or mass psychogenic illness (MPI) – rumored to have occurred in 1962 near the village of Kashasha on the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika) near the border with Uganda. Dismiss. It wasn’t just a group laugh—rather, experiencing the same stress, people subconsciously copy a complex of symptoms, of which laughter is just one. Much less serious than the Dancing Plague was the Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962. Pain? Malice? It is guaranteed that if you laugh more you will feel better, so look for something to laugh about today! Neuroscientist and lecturer Robert R. Provine, in his book “Laughter – A Scientific Investigation” writes that the Tanganyika Laugh Epidemic was a very real event. “The Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962 was an outbreak of mass to have occurred in or near the village of Kanshasa on the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika) near the border of Kenya. Scott Williams Children passing saw the girls laughing and although unaware of what had provoked such a joyous outburst among the girls, also started laughing. Yet cases like the group of high school girls in New York who developed facial tics continue to perplex the media. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. “You’re saying: You don’t have a valid disease, you don’t have an issue, you’re just being crazy because that gets you out of trouble.” The stigma is still there. Exploring the proven link between humour and better health this book is a 'must read' for anyone who wants to generate more laughter in their life! It spread throughout nearby villages, infecting mostly young girls. Jan 16, 2016 - In 1962 a seemingly unprecedented and bizarre event took place in Tanzania and Uganda. See. Required fields are marked *. It had spread to the nearby villages of Nshamba and Bukoba. Slowly, it spread beyond their school and region and into other at-risk populations. Eventually if you are really lucky a group of people including yourself will be rolling around the floor with tears of joy streaming down their faces! Don't miss visiting The Happy Human Store! A laughter yoga session, where laughter is actually supposed to be contagious. The stress factors here among the schoolgirls may have included the unfamiliar expectations imposed in the British-run schools and the uncertainties created by Tanganyika’s independence, achieved barely a month before the incident. Tanganyika / ˌ t æ ŋ ɡ ə n ˈ j iː k ə / was a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania, that existed from 1961 until 1964.It first gained independence from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961 as a state headed by Queen Elizabeth II before becoming a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations a year later. That is why the laughter epidemic that happened in Tanzania in 1962 where over a thousand people laughed hysterically for over a year is not a laughing joke. A 19th-century cholera outbreak in Sligo may have been Bram Stoker's chief inspiration. Today’s research into the Tanganyika Laugh Epidemic seems to indicate that stress was possibly a leading cause of the epidemic. 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