The bizarre dance epidemic of 1518

A few months ago, the world was introduced to a novel coronavirus—a pathogen that causes COVID-19. The disease has evolved into a full-blown pandemic, and has already claimed the lives of more than two hundred thousand people worldwide. Experts fear that number could get far higher.

Pandemics have played a role in shaping the course of human history. Empires have fallen. Generations have been annihilated. In 1518 in France, the weirdest plague to strike mankind occurred: The Dancing Plague. For no apparent reason, hundreds of people began dancing in the streets uncontrollably, and they continued until they dropped dead.

"From a distance they might be carnival revellers. But closer inspection reveals a more disquieting scene. Their arms are flailing and their bodies are convulsing spasmodically. Ragged clothes and pinched faces are saturated in sweat. Their eyes are glassy, distant. Blood seeps from swollen feet into leather boots and wooden clogs. These are not revellers but 'choreomaniacs', entirely possessed by the mania of the dance."

Read The Dancing Plague of 1518 in The Public Domain Review.

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Print out and fold your own paper cameras

Totally want to make some of these Olympus mirrorless cameras with my daughter this weekend. They don't take pictures, but they sure would make my little girl very happy. The Japanese company has a webpage for kids , and you can easily create three-dimensional paper models of the OM-D or the PEN Lite by printing and folding those PDF templates in the papercraft section . Enjoy! [h/t: Pop Photo ]

Stone horsemen invade River Thames

It's not uncommon to see huge art installations on River Thames: a giant fiberglass sperm whale , a floating house , a massive wooden hippo . If you happen to be in London, head down to Nine Elms, on the south bank of the waterway, any day this month, and — if it's a low tide — you'll see a group of stone horsemen by world-renowned underwater sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor , rising above the riverside beach. The artwork, titled The Rising Tide , is part of the Totally Thames arts festival and is the first of its kind to be installed in the famed river. Four three-meter tall working horses with riders are shown — two of the riders are businessmen and two are children — though horse heads have been replaced with oil pumps. The sculptures are on display until the end of September.

Yoskay Yamamoto blends his Japanese heritage with urban pop art

I have a bit of a soft spot for ceramic sculptors here at FINDING CAIN , having featured many artists in that genre before: Jason Briggs , Brett Kern , Orly Montag , Toshiya Masuda , and James DeRosso , to name a few. A few days ago, I discovered yet another artist working with ceramics named Yoskay Yamamoto . Born and raised in Japan, Yoskay is now based in California. He also draws, paints, creates street art and makes toys, but his sculptures, carved figurines, and installations are the ones which caught my eye. I did some digging, and found out a little bit more about this amazing talent. On his bio, it reads: "A self-trained illustrator, Yamamoto's artistic tastes expanded as he fell in love with the urban culture of the West coast. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his new Western home with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his...

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