Medieval Europe wasn’t exactly a party paradise—famine, plague, and political chaos made life miserable for most people. So why, then, did groups of people suddenly start dancing uncontrollably in the streets? Known as Dancing Mania, these bizarre outbreaks saw hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people writhing, leaping, and spinning—often until they collapsed from exhaustion or worse.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dig into the strange, often deadly phenomenon that baffled doctors and terrified communities. Was it mass hysteria, a mysterious illness, or just medieval people really, really loving dance? From Germany to the Low Countries, this episode explores the history, the theories, and the chaos of Europe’s most perplexing dance parties.It’s history, hilarity, and human weirdness—because on Mistakes Were Made, even the plague comes with a punchline.

Keywords:
Dancing Mania podcast, medieval Europe strange history, mass hysteria history, Mistakes Were Made podcast, comedy history podcast, weird history stories, dancing epidemic, bizarre medieval events, strange epidemics, funny history podcast.