Facts reviewed
Can the Guessarium name the Tanganyika laughter epidemic?
Think of Tanganyika laughter epidemic and answer yes or no. The Guessarium closes in, usually in under fifteen questions. In January 1962, an outbreak of uncontrollable laughter began among schoolgirls in a village near Kashasha in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania), spreading to around a thousand people over subsequent months. You'll see play statistics here once real games have been recorded.
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Named correctly
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Times played
1962
When it happened
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What happened at the Tanganyika laughter epidemic
The Tanganyika laughter epidemic began in January 1962 at a mission-run girls' boarding school near Kashasha, in what was then Tanganyika. Students experienced fits of uncontrollable laughter, sometimes lasting hours or days, accompanied by crying, fainting, and other symptoms. The school closed, and the affliction spread to nearby villages and other schools over several months. Estimates of those affected vary, ranging from several hundred to about 1,000 people. No infectious or toxicological cause was identified. Researchers later concluded it was a case of mass psychogenic illness, likely triggered by social stresses, including pressures following Tanganyika's independence in December 1961. The episode remains a widely cited example of mass hysteria.
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Questions players ask
When did Tanganyika laughter epidemic happen?
Tanganyika laughter epidemic is dated to 1962.
What was Tanganyika laughter epidemic?
The Tanganyika laughter epidemic began in January 1962 at a mission-run girls' boarding school near Kashasha, in what was then Tanganyika. Students experienced fits of uncontrollable laughter, sometimes lasting hours or days, accompanied by crying, fainting, and other symptoms. The school closed, and the affliction spread to nearby villages and other schools over several months. Estimates of those affected vary, ranging from several hundred to about 1,000 people. No infectious or toxicological cause was identified. Researchers later concluded it was a case of mass psychogenic illness, likely triggered by social stresses, including pressures following Tanganyika's independence in December 1961. The episode remains a widely cited example of mass hysteria.
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