Episode #62: The Lancashire Cotton Mill Hysteria & the 1787 Zodiac Back

Hand-spinning cotton on a great wheel, Normandy, 1773. Source: Archives Nationales (France), F12/560: M. Latapie, ‘Réflexions préliminaires’, 1773.

3/26/2025: On today’s episode, Valerie tells the mystifying tale of an 18th century prank gone wrong! Lancashire County residents were distressed when an outbreak of convulsions began at the local cotton mill and spread nearby. When the doctor arrived, he brought with him a most surprising remedy. We cover this incident and a few other examples of some wild hysterias throughout history. Next, Amy Jo covers the astrology and astronomy of 1787 along with a personal look at friend of the pod Caroline Herschel’s badassery. We also take a look at Amy Jo’s personal connection to the chart of the U.S. Constitution and how Pluto in Aquarius (our sign of the week) may be spurring “the collective” in positive ways.

Location of the ceremonial county of Lancashire within England

Print Collector / Getty Images

Spinning Jenny at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

Def Leppard - Hysteria (vinyl version)

Pet Nun Costume for Dogs and Cats Holy Hound Dress Up with Vest, Gown, Necklace & Veil

Antique Hand Crank Generator

School Dance from Back to the Future

Round Gowns of. the1780s

January 1, 1787 Chart

December 31, 1787 Chart

Total and Annular Solar Eclipse Paths 1781-1800

Lithograph of William and Caroline Herschel

Caroline Herschel

US Constitution Chart

Aquarius Graphic from australa.com

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

NA

The Lancashire Cotton Mill Hysteria Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_panic_cases 

https://wondersofworldengineering.com/cotton_mill.html 

https://social.shorthand.com/aus_teach/uCFS5JGJBc/lost-in-the-cotton-mills 

https://anomalien.com/a-case-of-spontaneous-hysteria-in-a-cotton-mill/ 

https://www.bible.ca/psychiatry/an-epidemic-of-hysterics-william-st-clare-1787ad.htm 

https://drvitelli.typepad.com/providentia/2018/05/the-shock-cure.html

The Lancashire Cotton Mill Hysteria Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancashire#/media/File:Lancashire_UK_locator_map_2010.svg 

https://instructional-resources.physics.uiowa.edu/demos/5k4081-antique-hand-crank-generator 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_jenny#/media/File:Spinning_jenny_blackburn.JPG 

https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-the-spinning-jenny-4057900 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteria_(Def_Leppard_album)#/media/File:Def_Leppard_-_Hysteria_(vinyl_version).jpg 

https://www.amazon.com/Pets-Costume-Dogs-Hound-Dress/dp/B0BT8JXRFW?th=1

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8dSTJxWRAviOuWN8ElFn0CTrrM5QYGfwdhnrJoO4q_lRstf9-zhdYCWumpV-p9v12sIh9wR4j8eBcP7NVFEHLY-hFCR1AntRtN0eCskGRLn8c3rc_R3XXaDX8Nwjzr0JvT3m_wYi-Pk/s1600/Enchantment-Under-The-Sea-Dance.jpg

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00404969.2020.1812472#d1e178

https://astrala.com/zodiac-signs/aquarius

1787 Zodiac Back Sources:

https://horoscopes.astro-seek.com/calculate-ephemeris-search-engine_250/?razeni=&narozeni_rok_od=1700&narozeni_rok_do=2100&pluto=11&pluto_s=14s

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/caroline-herschel-first-paid-female-astronomer#:~:text=Having%20made%20herself%20recognisable%20as,earn%20a%20living%20from%20astronomy. 

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/LE1701-1800.htm

https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Herschel_Caroline/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Herschel 

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/caroline-herschel-first-paid-female-astronomer#:~:text=Having%20made%20herself%20recognisable%20as,earn%20a%20living%20from%20astronomy. 

https://www.jessicaadams.com/2023/02/04/blog/pluto-in-aquarius-the-next-five-years/ 

https://www.astro.com/swisseph/swepha_e.htm

https://www.astro.com/swisseph/ae/1700/ae_1787.pdf

https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/United_States_Constitution#google_vignette

1787 Zodiac Back Photo Sources:

astro-seek.com

https://astrala.com/zodiac-signs/aquarius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Herschel#/media/File:1829_Melchior_Gommar_Tieleman,_%C3%96lgem%C3%A4lde_Caroline_Herschel_Hannover.tif 

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEatlas/SEatlas2/SEatlas1781.GIF 

https://kottke.org/17/07/a-timeline-of-womens-fashion-from-1784-1970 

https://www.astrotheme.com/images/zoom.php?p=rlW2VwbvZF4jZlVfVz4vBvWwVvjvLlV6VwLlqQWGqQunD1I0AvVfVz8vBvVjsQS8ZKjjsQO8ZUjjsQO8ZUjjsQNjVa0 

https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Herschel_Caroline/