Around the world and across time, people have fallen victim to one of the strongest contagions of all - the power of suggestion. Here are just a few examples of these bizarre cases.
AI Summary
In this episode, Josh and Chuck dive deep into the fascinating and bizarre world of mass psychogenic illness, also known as collective hysteria or mass hysteria, exploring how psychological stress can spread contagious physical symptoms through tight-knit communities. They trace the phenomenon from medieval nuns meowing in unison and biting each other across Europe, through the kissing bug newspaper scare of 1899, the self-inflicted slashing epidemic in Halifax, and more modern cases like the West Bank fainting crisis of 1983 and a Portuguese teen drama that somehow triggered a real illness outbreak. It's a wild ride through some of history's strangest collective breakdowns that shows how our minds and anxieties can literally make us sick, sometimes with hilarious and horrifying consequences.
"Movies like that coming back with the Baba Dook, and it follows. — Chuck mentions It Follows as an example of good quality horror movies being made recently."
— Chuck
"Missing, with Jack Lemon. No, not that one, because I haven't seen it. — Josh mentions the Jack Lemmon film as one of the missing persons movies discussed on Cinema Jaws."
— Josh
Gorillas in the Mist
1988
★ 7.0
"Have you ever seen The Vanishing, the original one from the 80s? Yeah. The Franco-Dutch production? — Chuck discusses the superior original Franco-Dutch version compared to the Jeff Bridges remake."
— Chuck
Morangos com Açúcar: A Peça
2006
2h 0m
"In May of 2006, there was a teen soap opera called Save by the Bell called Morangos Com Açucar. — Chuck discusses how an episode of this Portuguese teen show triggered a mass psychogenic illness in real-life viewers."
— Chuck
"I know, platoon. Oh. Got it. Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen. — Josh identifies Platoon as the film where a soldier slashes another character under the eye with a blade."
— Josh
Saved by the Bell
1989
★ 7.8
"There was a teen soap opera called Save by the Bell called Morangos Com Açucar. — Chuck compares the Portuguese teen show Morangos Com Açucar to Saved by the Bell as a reference point."
— Chuck
The Babadook
2014
NR
1h 34m
★ 6.5
"Good quality movies now. I didn't like the Baba Dook. — Josh and Chuck discuss recent quality horror films including The Babadook and It Follows."
— Josh
The Princess Bride
1987
1h 39m
★ 7.7
"It's the Princess Bride. No. Yes, it is. It's not the Princess Bride. — Chuck mistakenly suggests The Princess Bride contains the knife slash scene Josh was remembering."
— Chuck
The Witch
2016
1h 32m
★ 7.0
"Have you seen The Witch yet? Tomorrow. — Josh mentions watching The Witch the next day and Chuck references a Cinema Jaws podcast episode that reviewed the film."
— Josh
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