163. The Dancing Plague of 1518

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In the summer of 1518, the town
of Strasbourg, Alsace, or modern

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day France, was engulfed in one
of, if not the strangest

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phenomena that has ever been
recorded throughout human

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history.
It began when a woman by the

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name of Frau Truffea left her
home and began to dance in the

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street.
As her husband and neighbors

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attempted to figure out exactly
what she was doing, they were

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met with only more dancing.
She danced throughout the day

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and well into the night, and
then she collapsed.

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Frau Truffea had fallen asleep
from pure exhaustion due to

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simply not being able to stop
dancing.

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The severity of this event
became apparent when the next

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day Trophia rose up and
continued her dance with sore

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muscles, joints, and feet.
The townsfolk looked on as a

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tearful Trovea again danced the
entirety of the day and night,

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only to collapse again at the
point of pure exhaustion caused

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by her energy simply ending for
Al.

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Truphia laid in the street, feet
bloodied and brewed and rested

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for hours As she awoke.
The dance continued, blood began

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soaking her shoes and tears ran
down her face as her body moved

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without command.
The pain of her muscle aches

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caused by the last 48 plus hours
of dancing was unbearable.

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More and more people gathered
and began to talk amongst

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themselves, and to many she had
been possessed by a demon for

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her sins, and to some she was a
gift directly from God.

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But over the next few days, up
to 50 more people would be added

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to this mix of fanatical
dancing, and everyone found

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themselves terrified that they
would be next to be trapped in

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the never ending movements that
were causing people to dance so

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much that the bones in their
feet were exposed to the bare

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grounds of the streets.
By the time it was over, a

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minimum of 400 people had joined
the dance, many of whom to their

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death.
Today we look into one of the

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biggest medical mysteries in the
history of humankind.

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Today we dive into the dancing
play of 1518.

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Welcome back to Infinite Rabbit.
Imagine.

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This line represents the time
present 1985 Future Past prior

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to this point in time somewhere
here in the past.

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The timeline you've gone into
this tangent creating on the

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00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:12,880
Swift 1985 alternate to you need
an Einstein reality for everyone

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00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:20,920
else.
And welcome back to the Infinite

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Rabbit Hole podcast.
I'm your host, Jeremy.

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Today we're going to go way back
in time to a place called

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Alsace, which was an area that
we now refer to as northeastern

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France, where one of the biggest
mysteries in all of human

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history took place.
That, of course, as you know

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from the title of the episode,
is the Dancing Plague of 1518.

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Now there were dancing plagues
prior to 1518 and we'll talk

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about that a little bit more in
the actual episode.

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Before we jump into that, I just
want to remind everybody that if

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you're in the area of Elmwood,
WI on the weekend of July 26th,

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27th and 28th, Infinite Rabbit
Hole will be making their first

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00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:04,040
ever in person appearance at UFO
Days, which is a festival about

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00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,720
UFOs in a small town of only
about 800 people with plenty of

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people that have all their own
stories of a UFO and alien

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encounters.
And we'll be there to get their

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stories.
So please, if you're in the

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area, stop on by the booth.
And even though we haven't

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really decided exactly what
we're going to talk about there,

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we will be speaking.
We'll be doing live episodes.

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We'll have a great time.
So please head on over and check

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us out.
Say hi.

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We're looking forward to meeting
you travelers.

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And one more thing before we get
going on this episode, please

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rate this podcast.
Something as simple as a five

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star rating helps out immensely.
It's free and it would be

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greatly appreciated by everyone
here at the Infinite Rabbit.

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Without further ado, everybody,
here is my presentation on the

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dancing play of 1518, Joy,
The Dance of Frau Trufia.

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The exact date in which Frau
Truffia began her dance is up

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for debate, but we do know that
it began about a week prior to

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July 14th and 1518.
This is due to that being the

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date of the Holy festival
dedicated to Mary Magdalene,

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which came with minor
documentation of the dancing,

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which started roughly a week
prior.

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Nobody has any clue as to what
she was doing just prior to

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being spotted for the first time
dancing in the streets, but it

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has been stated in a few
publications that her husband

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has seemed desperate, tempting
to stop her.

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It began with a bit of anger
from what many imagined to be

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embarrassment, but as the hours
ticked away it began to

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transform into something more of
concern.

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Her dance continued that day
well into the evening, in front

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of an ever growing crowd of
onlookers.

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They watched as her movements
became sluggish and shortened as

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she lost energy in the wee hours
of the night until she

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eventually collapsed right where
she stood, in the middle of the

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street.
Frau Choufea had fallen asleep

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at an unknown time.
The next day she rose from her

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sleep and immediately began to
dance once more.

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The crowds came back and
everyone began speculating that

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this was more serious than they
had originally believed.

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At first, the people in the
crowd made comments against her

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dignity, claimed that she was
acting inappropriate, and that

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this was all an act for
attention.

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This pattern of sleep and
dancing continued for many days

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in varying reports.
Some claimed that her movements

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were accompanied by her
consistent cries and screams

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throughout the entirety of her
dance.

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Some say that she stopped making
any sounds after day three and

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simply continued to dance,
complete silence with a dull

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expression upon her face until
she passed away.

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And there are the others that
claim that the expressionless

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1000 yard stare was consistent
since the very beginning.

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But what we do know is that
there was blood, bruising,

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swelling and lacerations on and
around her feet and ankles, as

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well as many tears in her eyes.
And thanks to sermon records and

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notes from the Strasbourg City
Council, we can also rest easy

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knowing that Frau Truffea
survived.

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There are no records of what her
dance looked like, and very few

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records of the names of those
that would eventually join Frau

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Truffea in a dance of their own,
but speculations arose as to why

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it happened and the meaning
behind it all.

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The most commonly believed
reason behind the dance of the

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time was that she was possessed
by a demon.

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This stemmed from the ignorant
beliefs of the time and the

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frailty of the female mind and
body.

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The Times believed that women
were born sinful and lustful,

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and due to this they had weaker
defenses against possession than

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men did, which led them being
more attractive to demons

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looking to take over a human's
body and mind.

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So when the opinion evolved
shortly after the plague began

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for Al Trufia was looked at as
one of the worst sinful

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offenders and rumours which were
very easily taken as fact.

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Early 1500s began about her
being an adulterer, whore and

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even a thief.
Therefore it was believed that

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she became a direct target of
the vengeful St. known as St.

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Vitus, who was celebrated by a
feast that was commonly

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accompanied with dancing before
his statute, which led him to be

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the patron St. of dancers and
entertainers.

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It was also eventually believed
that this dancing plague became

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a tool of his to cast punishment
against those deserving.

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This was primarily due to the
recent plague of syphilis that

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spread through Strasbourg just
prior, which was perceived in

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the form of punishment to the
adulterer, searing sensation in

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the genitals and easily
identifiable sores that

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announced your sins to the
public.

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And it was thought that due to
the eventual dancing mania that

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overtook Strasbourg, St.
Vitus had sent the dance as a

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punishment for not heeding to
the first warnings of adultery.

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So after six entire days of
dancing, Frau Tufeyo was

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forcefully transported about 30
miles West to the Commune Severn

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where Grotto stood completely
dedicated to Saint Vitus, where

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she was left to dance in shoes
of red and a cross on her

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forehead with many others who
had fallen victim to this

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mysterious dancing plague
history.

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Crazy enough for those that do
not consider themselves

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spiritual or religious.
This dance in front of the

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Shrine of Saint Vitus marked a
period where many people ceased

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to dance, including Frauchefia.
So of course this was seen as

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the answer to their question and
further strengthened the belief

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that this was of the Saints
doing now.

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Many of the records of this
strange, frantic dancing plague

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that grasped this town of the
once Holy Roman Empire were

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documented in Latin and High
German, but only a handful of

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original manuscripts survived
the explosives used in the

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Franco Prussian War of 1870.
But luckily for us, handwritten

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copies and old medical texts in
various portions of the world

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were saved that successfully
recreated a picture of what took

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place in the months of July,
August, and September of 1518.

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It was a man who was once
considered to be a sorcerer by

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the name a Theo Frostus von
Hohenheim, better known simply

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as Paracelsus, The Alchemist and
physician who would be the first

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to publish his quote UN quote
professional opinion of the

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strange dance that took so many
lives.

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In 1526 he entered the city and
was fascinated to hear local

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preachers reminding their
congregations of the penalty

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cast down upon the sinners a few
short years prior.

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Being a man who openly delved
into the lore and literature of

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the preternatural topics of
demons and such, Paracelsus

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would publish his findings in
the 1532 publication Diseases

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That Rob Men of Their Reason, in
which he points to Patient zero

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for all Trufea as the first of
the quote.

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Whores and scoundrels who were
overtaken by irresistible urges

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to dance to death after she
initially began the public

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display as a way to humiliate
her husband, he would go on to

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name this irresistible urge to
dance uncontrollably Horrea

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lesquiva and those who fell
victim Horreomaniacs.

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Prior to the events of 1518 in
Strasbourg, there are or were

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records of other events in
history of people randomly

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breaking out in this dance to
the death.

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In the years prior, areas of
Germany and northeastern France

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also recorded this phenomenon.
They were described to be

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considered a mania, which
defined means that these events

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were stemmed from the
uncontrollable passion or mental

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disorder of the victims.
In the book The Dancing Play by

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John Waller, he describes that
there is evidence of up to seven

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different cases prior to the
incident in Strasburg that

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included more than a single
person or family, with the

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earliest being from a Saxon town
called Colbeck in 1017, followed

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by the next recorded incident in
the Germantown of Erfurt in

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1247, where the dancing plague
affected 100 or more of the

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town's children.
Unfortunately, many of them

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died, but a handful of them did
survive, but were stricken with

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tremors and fatigue for the rest
of their lives.

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The largest account of the
dancing plague in history took

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place in 1374 and began in the
area of France known as

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Rhineland.
This case included thousands of

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people in an area that
eventually expanded N to Ghent

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00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:11,320
and to the South to Metz, a
stretch that measures about 210

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miles from north to South.
In this instance, many were able

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to regain control of their body
before dying, that is, for the

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first time In this case, people
commonly relapse back into their

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dancing frenzy after
successfully recovering, in

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which most died during their
second bout, with many catching

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the plague of dancing 3 or even
4 times.

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Other than the handful of
outbreaks in this vaguely

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recorded history, there is a
large number of cases involving

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one person or a household of
people.

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So why are we talking about the
1518 Strasburg outbreak rather

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than any of the others?
Well, the answer is easy.

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The events in Strasburg took
place after the invention of the

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printing press in 1440 by
Johannes Gutenberg, in an area

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that was well into the age of
bureaucracy in the well

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documented Roman Empire.
This made the event in

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Strasbourg the best record of
the mystery that is the dancing

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play, while the others are only
known to have happened due to

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bits and pieces of handwritten
records, with most supporting

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information about the cases
being lost at times or never

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being recorded properly at all.
A modern answer for a medieval

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mystery The most understandably
common question in regard to the

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mystery of the dancing plague is
of course, how did it happen?

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And for this section and answer
to this question, my research

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primarily came from the book The
Dancing Play by John Walder in

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00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,920
which he claims that the most
commonly accepted reason why

226
00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,120
people took to the streets to
dance to their death is the mold

227
00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:50,880
that is common on the stalks of
rot known as Irgit, which has

228
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,560
been found to have up to 70
different alkaloids, one of

229
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:59,960
which being lacergic acid which
is the L&S in LSD.

230
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,200
Rye was and is still a very
common grain flour which is the

231
00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,520
base for many breads and beers
according to

232
00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:14,000
medicalnewstoday.com.
When consumed, ergot can induce

233
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,360
psychosis, convulsions and
dizziness, which can definitely

234
00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,520
check off many aspects of what
people were seeing during this

235
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:25,080
time, but cannot take sole
responsibility as a cause for

236
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,680
the dancing plague itself, as it
often caused quicker deaths

237
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,400
before modern medicine and also
included symptoms such as

238
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,960
burning sensations in the
extremities and gangrene which

239
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:37,720
were not recorded in the
victims.

240
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,760
Another very popular explanation
is that the victims were

241
00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,800
suffering from hysteria, which
Waller explains as quote a

242
00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,400
physical expression of
psychological distress.

243
00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,880
And although this lens is a
better explanation as to why

244
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,880
Frau Truffea began dancing, it
unfortunately also falls short

245
00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,560
as continually dancing to one's
death isn't a symptom of

246
00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,480
hysteria.
But hysteria does come with a

247
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,720
few symptoms that could have
caused many to look in this

248
00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:09,160
direction.
According to verywellmind.com.

249
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,240
Symptoms such as emotional
outbursts, hallucinations,

250
00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,440
histrionic behaviors or being
overly dramatic, being in a

251
00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,320
trance, fainting or passing out
and or rigid or spasming

252
00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:23,720
muscles.
These are the most commonly used

253
00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:26,040
explanations for the strange
phenomenon.

254
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,240
Historian John Walter, on the
other hand, has come forward

255
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,560
with a much different approach
to this event, a medieval answer

256
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,240
for a medieval mystery.
Other than the modern

257
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,160
explanations for the cause of
the dancing plague, there are

258
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,200
many non modern explanations
that stand on the line between

259
00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,960
the preternatural and belief,
some of such, or that the person

260
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,520
affected was the victim of a
demonic possession.

261
00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,080
In some cases, doctors and
clergymen from the era blamed

262
00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,880
their blood being too hot.
Yet another belief was described

263
00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,120
as dancers attempting to attract
divine attention from God

264
00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,920
himself.
But historian John Walter's

265
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,200
conclusion stems not solely from
the beliefs from the age, but

266
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,839
from the literal stressors of
the lives these people were

267
00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,560
living.
For.

268
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,400
One, the stresses on everyday
life were extremely high for

269
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,720
those of the serfdom or peasant
class.

270
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,599
The religious leaders of this
time were well documented to be

271
00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:25,960
very poor leaders as they set
the prices on grains, rules and

272
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,440
laws of the towns or cities that
they stood as leaders of and

273
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:35,000
partook in very unholy acts with
their addictions to meet drink,

274
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:39,920
luxury in women on top of the
stressors caused by their daily

275
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,440
lives of work and payments to
the landlord.

276
00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:46,200
Health issues also reared up in
the form of smallpox and the

277
00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,880
bubonic plague, which reappeared
every ten years or so, and the

278
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,600
introduction of syphilis, which
ran rampant through the

279
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,840
population once it began that
showed up in the forms of scabs,

280
00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,640
welts, and pus filled sacs all
over one's body.

281
00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,920
Another mysterious illness known
as the English sweats ripped

282
00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,520
through the city the year prior,
all of which caused the forced

283
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,360
segregation of all of the sick
to a secluded area far outside

284
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:13,560
of the city.
Resembling leper colonies, many

285
00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,520
families were split up only for
those that were sick to wait for

286
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,760
their death in seclusion.
The three years prior to the

287
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,360
outbreak of the Dancing Plague
in 1518 were all consumed by

288
00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,240
failed crops of wheat, squash,
grapes and many others due to

289
00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,240
early frost and or intense heat
waves through the summer months.

290
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,400
This led to a smaller food
supply not only for the citizens

291
00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,920
but also for the livestock,
which led to a reduction in the

292
00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,920
number of animals that were
available for meats, labour and

293
00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,960
other food products, which in
turn also led to higher prices

294
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,720
and taxes on such product,
furthering the famine which as a

295
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,160
byproduct increased the crime.
With the stress of their

296
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,960
everyday lives already being
more than most could ever bear.

297
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,440
The population of the Roman
Empire was very devout to their

298
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:06,000
religious beliefs and to them
the illness, famine, harsh

299
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:11,000
winter, and even the meteor
strike of on Sissheim in 1492

300
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,960
just outside the city were
thought to be God's warnings of

301
00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,600
the population's sinful lives.
So not only were they stressed

302
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,480
from not being able to afford
food for themselves or for their

303
00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,560
families, and not only were they
led by those in religious power

304
00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,480
without their best interests in
mind, and not only were they

305
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,760
facing the bubonic plague and a
new disease later named

306
00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:34,640
Syphilis, as well as failing
crops year in and year out and

307
00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,040
the strong advancement of the
Turkish military, plus the death

308
00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,000
of hundreds over the last few
winters due to literally

309
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,040
freezing the death.
But they were also seeing these

310
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:47,120
issues as signs that they were
being punished by God for the

311
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:51,480
sins of others or simply that
God have lost patience with

312
00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,520
humans as a whole.
This further crippled the

313
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,920
population due to a new bloom of
deep depression as everyone

314
00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:02,720
began to not only live terrible
lives, but were also battling

315
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,520
the thoughts of the afterlife
being spent in the pits of hell.

316
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,080
This, plus the increase of
literal spirit sightings on the

317
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,200
rise.
Most likely caused by mass

318
00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,600
delirium.
All leads us to John Waller's

319
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,080
conclusion that the Dancing
Plague was caused by a form of

320
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:23,480
mass psychogenic disorder caused
by extreme stress and the

321
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,520
breakdown of not only the body,
but of the mind as well.

322
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,200
And with the literal and
spiritual alienation of the

323
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,680
population from their religious
leaders, and how common the

324
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,080
deaths of children were in this
time, this very well could have

325
00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,600
been a very possible huge
contributor, especially if you

326
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,480
take into consideration nephral.
Trufea may have had a personal

327
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,360
tragedy or a string of tragedies
such as the death of a child or

328
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:53,320
children, and possibly may have
been the victim of rape, which

329
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,760
was commonly committed by young
nobles, which unfortunately was

330
00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,720
a strong issue among the women
of the poorer classes.

331
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:02,080
But why did it come out as
dancing?

332
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:06,440
Honestly, the answer to this may
be a mixture of his explanation

333
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,440
and the ingesting of moldy rye
or various other ailments such

334
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:15,200
as what is commonly referred to
as synonyms or rheumatic choria,

335
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,200
which is a disorder accompanied
by symptoms of uncoordinated

336
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:23,040
jerking movements of the face,
hands, and feet and is most

337
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:27,040
common in children in the age of
5 to 15 years old, as well as

338
00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,960
being more common in females.
Unfortunately this also falls

339
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,480
short as a solid explanation as
victims of rheumatic chorea are

340
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,040
typically stuck in the position
of lying down.

341
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:40,640
The explanation that I
personally see as being the most

342
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:44,400
probable is a perfect blend of
all of the above as well as she

343
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,600
and those that followed her
conducted this dance in the type

344
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,880
of trance.
If you think about it, the

345
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,880
population was extremely
malnourished and overworked, so

346
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,960
to expect someone of this time
and place to have the energy to

347
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,080
dance for a week to their death
is impossible.

348
00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,760
Low energy reserves from the
lack of sustenance in the body

349
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,320
would not allow something like
this to happen.

350
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,280
But very strange things have
been able to happen when someone

351
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,120
is in a spiritual or chemically
induced trance.

352
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,840
By definition a trance is quote
a state of semi consciousness in

353
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:16,640
which a person is not self
aware.

354
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,120
It is either altogether
unresponsive to external stimuli

355
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:24,560
or selective responsiveness.
In this state, a person is

356
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,480
susceptible to hypnosis, which
is defined by mayoclinic.org as

357
00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,920
quote a state of awareness and
increased relaxation for

358
00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:33,560
improved focus and
concentration.

359
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,280
Now, chemicals such as drugs or
even fungus or mold cannot put

360
00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,240
you in the hypnosis, and that's
by medical standards, by the

361
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,840
way.
But it sure can put you into an

362
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,600
altered state of mind where a
plethora of different outcomes

363
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,960
can unfold.
If Frau Truffea was caught in a

364
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,960
nutrient deprived, depressed,
possibly chemically induced

365
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,280
trance caused by, let's say,
moldy rye or some other unknown

366
00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,680
substance, it very well could
have been the correct rare

367
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,120
combination needed to allow
uncontrollable movement of her

368
00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:06,880
body for an extended period of
time.

369
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,120
Especially if the substance was
in the food supply, which would

370
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,360
answer for how others were
engulfed into the Dancing Plague

371
00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:16,880
as well.
And once that particular batch

372
00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,360
of lace food, which was being
strictly sold to only the lower

373
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:24,240
classes, was gone, the dancing
would have ceased.

374
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,160
Of course, this is just my
opinion, and in no way am I

375
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,480
claiming that this is the
correct answer to this enigma.

376
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,120
The truth is that this mystery
may never be salt, and the

377
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,320
legend of the Dancing Plague
that once reared its ugly head

378
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,320
in medieval Europe and sporadic
outbreak may never reveal its

379
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:54,240
secrets.
Well, that's it travelers.

380
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,240
That was my presentation on the
Dancing Plague of 1518.

381
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,280
Yes, unfortunately, there's just
not a lot to go off here.

382
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:07,200
This is an incredible topic, but
one that lacks documentation.

383
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,880
So the question I would like to
ask you is what do you believe

384
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,440
that?
The Dancing Plague of 1518 and

385
00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:18,360
the plagues prior were Do you
think that this was something

386
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:23,200
caused by a fungus on bry?
Do you believe that this was a

387
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,080
form of psychosis?
Or do you think that this was

388
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,120
something more along the lines
of something paranormal?

389
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,160
Let me know travelers.
Hit us up on Facebook, e-mail us

390
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:38,680
at infiniterabbitholegmail.com,
visit us on X Instagram, and

391
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,480
even TikTok.
Let us know And until next time

392
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,960
travelers, I'll see you in the
next fork in the past of The

393
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:54,520
Infinite Rabbit Hole, Goodbye.
I would like to thank you once

394
00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,680
again for tuning into the
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395
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,200
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407
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411
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Until next time travelers, I'm
Jeremy and I'll see you at the

412
00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,200
next fork in the path of the
infinite rabbit hole.

413
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:15,120
Past, prior to this point in
time, Somewhere here in the

414
00:26:15,120 --> 00:26:19,040
past, the timeline you run into
this tangent, creating an

415
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:27,400
ultimate 1985 alternate.
You need an Einstein reality for

416
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:28,040
everyone else.