June 24

I have a fair amount of experience with doctors, hospitals and disease but I was really taken by surprise by this next item. On the 24th in 1374, in Aachen, Germany there was the first spontaneous outbreak of St. John’s Dance. St. John’s dance caused those suffering from it to dance madly through whatever town they lived in, dancing, speaking in tongues and foaming at the mouth. This rather bizarre phenomena would continue to appear periodically well into the 17th century.