NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — On December 16, 1997, Japanese television viewers were confronted with an episode of the Pokemon cartoon that turned out to be one of the most mysterious and discussed moments in anime history.
According to the plot, Pikachu, Ash and their friends ended up in the world of the digital Pokemon Porygon, but it was one scene that caused a real shock. Suddenly, flashing lights appeared on the screens – Pikachu’s “attacks”.
The consequences of this scene were astonishing. As researchers Benjamin Radford and Robert Bartholomew note, by 7:30 p.m., 618 children were admitted to hospitals complaining of seizures, headaches, nausea, vomiting and other unusual symptoms. News of the incident spread rapidly and the number of casualties quickly rose to more than 12,000.
At first the blame was attributed to photosensitive epilepsy, but not all children had this disease. Most experienced short-term symptoms due to mass hysteria rather than organic causes. The researchers note that the episode met many of the criteria for epidemic hysteria: unidentifiable symptoms, predominantly young schoolchildren, and media exposure.
Considering that photosensitive epilepsy affects about 0.025% of the population, it is not possible to attribute all cases to this disease. The team suggests that the hysteria may have spread among schoolchildren from witnessing the seizures or media reports.
Just in case, the channel took Pokemon off the air, and since then the episode has never appeared on TV screens. This incident remains a mysterious moment in the anime, reminding us of the power of mass hysteria and its ability to influence the collective consciousness.
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News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
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