The Dancing Plague of 1518

Back in the early 14th Century, Strasbourg, France was gripped in one of history’s most peculiar pandemics. Known as the Dancing Plague of 1518, it began with a woman, Frau Troffea, who started to dance fervently in a street, for no apparent reason. Over the course of a week, 34 others joined her, and within a month, the ‘disease’ had spread to 400 people.

Medieval Rave or Manic Epidemic?

Those affected by the Dance Plague didn’t just jiggle or sway; they danced with intense, relentless fervor until they collapsed from exhaustion. Many even died from heart attacks and strokes as a result. Physicians at the time attributed the strange phenomenon to “hot blood” and suggested more dancing to ‘cure’ the problem. Little did they know, they were encouraging an involuntary dance frenzy that lasted months.

Raining Animals

What is more bizarre than a sudden downpour of frogs, fish, or even spiders from the sky? Documented since ancient times, such phenomena seem too strange to be true.

The Case of Yoro, Honduras

The small town of Yoro in Honduras experiences a yearly “Rain of Fish”, a phenomenon where fish seemingly rain from the sky during heavy rains. This event has been happening for more than a century and is even celebrated with the Festival de Lluvia de Peces.

A Rainy Day in India

In 2005, residents of the small Indian town of Salal had another strange weather experience when it began raining fish. This event occurred over a relatively small area, and numerous small, slithering fish were discovered on rooftops, streets, and fields.

The Great Emu War of Australia

Sounds like a silly cartoon episode, right? Believe it or not, this was a real event in Australian history during the summer of 1932. Australia waged war against a large flock of emus that was causing havoc to the crops of Western Australian farmers.

Birds versus Bullets

The Australian government commissioned soldiers armed with machine guns to curb the emu population. However, the birds, showing remarkable resilience, were unfazed by the warfare. During what was known as the ‘Emu War,’ soldiers had a hard time curbing this resilient flurry of feathers.

Victory to the Emus

Described by some as the ‘most significant war effort’ in Australian history, the government ended up recalling the troops after about a month. And despite the human advantage of powerful artillery, the emus emerged victorious. The large birds continued to plague farmers and repeat attempts to control them through military measures were unsuccessful.

The Exploding Whale of Oregon

Back in 1970, a 45-foot, eight-ton whale washed up on the Oregon coast. The decomposing leviathan soon became a huge problem, with its stench being unbearable for residents. The solution? Blow it up, of course.

The Detonating Dilemma

Facing the rotting carcass, the Oregon Highway Division decided that half a ton of dynamite would be sufficient to disintegrate the whale. Unsurprisingly, this did not go as planned.

Whale Rain

When the dynamite was detonated, chunks of whale meat rained down upon spectators who had gathered to watch the spectacle, damaging cars and horrifying onlookers. Bits of blubber were found as far as 800 feet from the blast site. This unfortunate incident is now remembered as an example of how not to dispose of a beached whale and serves as a story of one of history’s stranger ways to solve an unusual problem.

These stories are but a glimpse into the annals of human history, a testament to the truth of the adage, ‘truth is indeed stranger than fiction.’ It proves how the quirky side of our past can offer light-hearted amusement amidst the more serious historical events.