All in History

1518 Dancing Plague

The dancing plague of 1518 was a strange phenomenon that occurred in Strasbourg, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire (now France). In the summer of 1518, a woman named Frau Troffea began dancing in the streets and continued for days without rest. Soon, more people joined her, and within a month, there were around 400 people dancing uncontrollably in the city.

Antebellum Technology

Antebellum technology refers to the technological advancements and innovations that occurred in the United States before the American Civil War (1861-1865). During this period, the country experienced significant progress in various areas, including transportation, communication, manufacturing, and agriculture. Here are some notable technological developments from the antebellum era:

The Great Horse Epizootic of 1872: “Living Machines” and Technology

The second industrial revolution (1870-1914) transformed the urban landscape of the United States.[1] This urbanization and subsequent migration of people across the United States required a massive investment in transportation. Although the railroad quickly transformed itself into the principal means of distance transportation by the 1870s, horses remained the primary means of transportation, distribution, and labor in all significant urban areas.

Jefferson Wheel

The ability to relay messages secretly has been a challenge throughout history. How can one person communicate secretly, efficiently, and across any distance without the information being discovered by someone other than the recipient? From the Greek scytale and the Roman Caesar Cipher, the technology of cryptography remained relatively the same until the late 17th century, when events in Europe and America required an updated message transmission method.