The Laughter Epidemic That Shut Down a Nation

In 1962, a remote village in Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania) experienced something no one could explain—an outbreak of laughter.
It began with three schoolgirls. Within days, entire schools shut down. Within weeks, it spread across the region. Over a thousand people were affected.

But this wasn’t joy. Victims cried, fainted, convulsed. Some suffered for months.
There was no known disease. No poison. No explanation.
Was it a virus of the mind?

This is the forgotten story of the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic—one of the most bizarre psychological outbreaks in modern history.

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