Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962

On January 30, 1962, in the new nation of Tanganyika three young girls laughed at a joke. However, instead of the laughter dying down after a few minutes, it spread throughout the school, affecting 60% of the students. It even expanded through the region.

While it has been reported that people of the town laughed continuously for a year, that is not true. There were spurts of laughter, as well as tears, fainting, and rashes. Several schools were forced to close down, and it was said to have affected a thousand people.

While this is thought to be another example of Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI), the laughter only affected children and is the only known instance of this type of epidemic. (Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3)