Dancing Cat Fever: Mercury’s Deadly Dance | Smartest Year Ever (Jan 29, 2025)
About this episode
Gordy uncovers the bizarre history of Dancing Cat Fever, where convulsing cats warned humans of deadly mercury poisoning. How did superstition meet science to solve this mystery? Learn about these feline sentinels, the dangers of mercury exposure, and its lasting impact on environmental health.
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Sources:
Toxicological Reviews - Mercury Poisoning in History
Smithsonian Magazine - The Strange History of Dancing Cats
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - Minamata Disease and Mercury Exposure
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