372 - The Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning

In 1951, hundreds of residents of the small French town of Pont-Saint-Esprit were struck down by a mystery illness that caused mass hallucinations. People thought they were being chased by tigers, others grabbed weapons and chased each other, one man jumped into a river because he thought his belly was being eaten by snakes. What had caused this mass event? Was it as something as innocent as bad food, or was there something much more sinister afoot?

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REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:

BBC

Mental Floss

NCBI

Guardian

NY Times

Smithsonian

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