6 Amazing Historical Mysteries Uncovered by Reddit Users (3 of 4)

4. The Unexplained Phenomenon of the Dancing Plague

Place: Strasbourg, France. Year: 1518. Event: People partying like one would be inclined to do on New Year’s Eve 481 years later. The folks just couldn’t stop dancing. Whatever was happening, it was contagious. It was reported that over a period of several weeks, hundreds of people had caught the dancing plague, and the only “cure” seemed to be death by exhaustion.

The fine users over at Reddit have offered a few reasonable theories, with our favorite being ergot poisoning. Tripping on mushrooms, basically.

5. The Lost Roman Legion of Carrhae

Far be it from us to question the brilliance of Marcus Licinius Crassus, a Roman general who is credited with transforming the Roman Republic into the Great Empire that it became, but it can be objectively stated that 53 BCE was not one of his best years. More specifically, that’s when he was killed in action while leading tens of thousands of his men to a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Carrhae in modern-day Turkey. We know that around 20,000 Roman soldiers were killed, but the fate of the remaining 10,000 captured by the Parthians will likely remain a mystery.

What do Reddit users think happened to them? Speculation abounds about enslavement, assimilation, or perhaps even migration to places as far away as China, where it has been said that the walls are great.