CIA agents in Havana complaining of mental fog, dizziness and ear pain in 2016. Children in Miami in 1974, hyperventilating and wracked with abdominal pain. A medieval outbreak of the “dancing plague”. A chorus of meowing nuns.
These mysterious and seemingly disparate events may have a simple explanation — and one that’s often overlooked when it comes to understanding strange new syndromes.
For a full list of sources used in this episode visit Tim Harford.com.

The Thief, the Jewels, and the Dublin Castle Conspiracy
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The Dunning Canoe-ger Effect
39:22

Presenting...This is History: A Dynasty to Die For
33:23