# Follow-up on the twitching cheerleaders **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159 "2012-03-08T16:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/1 "2012-03-08T16:31:05Z")
A lot of you have probably heard about that outbreak of strange, spastic behavior amongst high school girls up in New York State. [Here](http://nyti.ms/xk9Ixt)is a really interesting piece on it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/2 "2012-03-08T17:25:33Z")
Thanks for that, but I was disappointed that there was still no resolution. None of the explanations really satisfy. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/3 "2012-03-08T17:31:49Z")
Teens are so impressionable. I heard a story once about a school in Africa where many students were suddenly stricken with incontro;lable laughing fits. Turned out it was simply mental suggestion that was causing it. Not say that this is what is going on here. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/4 "2012-03-08T18:58:17Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Not say that this is what is going on here. Okay, I’ll say it. I called “BULLSHIT!” from the very start. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/5 "2012-03-08T20:48:54Z")
So will I. It’s not bullshit; it’s mass hysteria, like tarantism and [things like that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/6 "2012-03-08T20:50:49Z")
That sounds about right. That would explain why it was so limited to that demographic. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/7 "2012-03-08T20:51:48Z")
It was interesting reading about the different things that can trigger people, even subconsciously, to pick up these behaviors. The common background/environmental issues were intriguing as well. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/8 "2012-03-08T21:13:36Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Okay, I’ll say it. I called “BULLSHIT!” from the very start. Thanks for saying what I wanted to say. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/9 "2012-03-08T21:26:35Z")
Very strange. Hadn’t heard anything about it before. At least they’re not burning any witches in Le Roy… yet. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/10 "2012-03-08T22:04:56Z")
Story update from Feb 23 This is bull crap. A wide spread, localized illness and they won’t explain it? Hiding behind HIPAA laws? WTF? HIPAA protects individual medical history. They should be able to generally explain what’s happened to the whole group of teens. > [@](#): > > Wednesday night, administrators said all 12 students have been diagnosed and are being treated. They are not releasing causes due to HIPAA laws. They said they found similarities among some cases but wouldn’t elaborate. [http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/150087/37/Update-on-Tourettes-Like-Illness-in-Leroy](http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/150087/37/Update-on-Tourettes-Like-Illness-in-Leroy) ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/11 "2012-03-08T22:22:17Z")
You might try reading the New York Times link in the OP, which has more information. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/12 "2012-03-08T22:52:42Z")
Mass hysteria? I’ll buy that. It explains how Santorum won the primary here in TN. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/13 "2012-03-08T23:42:13Z")
Even by simply saying “it’s mass hysteria” it must be very scary for these girls (and the guy who is apparently afflicted). Reducing it to the simple common examples of how we react to things in the article, such as responding to yawning or laughing, can be very hard if you are trying to suppress the urge to join in. Just typing about this has set off a yawning fit for me! I can’t imagine dealing with weirder things the brain may spit out in this sort of situation. I can understand the desire to be able to point to something else, something outside the mind as the cause, but fighting the psychological diagnosis sounds like it would just make everything worse. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/14 "2012-03-08T23:57:31Z")
It instantly reminded me of the Mad Gasser. > **[Mad Gasser of Mattoon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Gasser_of_Mattoon)** > > The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (also known as the "Anesthetic Prowler," the "Phantom Anesthetist," or simply the "Mad Gasser") was the name given to the person or people believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s. More than two dozen separate cases of gassings were reported to police over the span of two weeks, in addition to many more reported sightings of the suspected assailant. The gasser's supposed victims reported smel... ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/15 "2012-03-09T00:44:22Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Okay, I’ll say it. I called “BULLSHIT!” from the very start. If you think “Mass hysteria” and “Bullshit” are the same thing, you’re deeply, deeply ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/16 "2012-03-09T01:26:29Z")
So if it’s settled that it was mass hysteria, is it OK now for me to suggest that someone should set some video clips of these girls to “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/17 "2012-03-09T04:42:38Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > So if it’s settled that it was mass hysteria, is it OK now for me to suggest that someone should set some video clips of these girls to “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads? “This is not my beautiful wife!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/18 "2012-03-09T04:45:02Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > You might try reading the New York Times link in the OP, which has more information. I tried but when I got to the bottom of the first page and realized I had at least nine more to go, I decided I just didn’t care that much. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/19 "2012-03-09T04:55:02Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I tried but when I got to the bottom of the first page and realized I had at least nine more to go, I decided I just didn’t care that much. I did the exact same thing. Then I read post #2 and said to myself “Well, I’m glad I didn’t just read a ten page article to find out there isn’t an answer”. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159/20 "2012-03-09T04:55:54Z")
Seeing the picture in the article, maybe the girl is suffering from an overdose of sugary breakfast cereals. 😉 Seriously, though, I find cases like this fascinating. There are numerous cases like this from different countries. This one seems to be going on much longer than others I’ve read about, which usually seem to disappear after a relatively short time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follow-up-on-the-twitching-cheerleaders/615159.md?page=2)