TIL about Encephalitis lethargica - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Between 1915 and 1926, Encephalitis Lethargica, or sleeping sickness, swept the world. It left people frozen—awake but unable to move or speak. Half a million died or became trapped in their bodies. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished without explanation.

top 4 comments

sorted by: hot top new old

[-] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Ah, so that was the inspiration for Sandman being captured in 1916.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Awakenings was an awesome movie about this!!! I was in high school then and I still remember it.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

I mean, it probably had a hard time spreading.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Explanation. I ate the disease. No more left for the rest of you.

this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2025

50 points (96.3% liked)

Today I Learned (TIL)

7560 readers

1 users here now

You learn something new every day; what did you learn today?

/c/til is a community for any true knowledge that you would like to share, regardless of topic or of source.

Share your knowledge and experience!

Rules

Information must be true
Follow site rules
No, you don't have to have literally learned the fact today
Posts must be about something you learned

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]