The Healing Power of Partying

I've said it before, I'll say it again: You never know what sort of odd and interesting things you discover when you're doing research for a book.

For instance, I discovered that in certain regions of Italy, it was believed that the way for someone to be cured after being bitten by a tarantula was...

to dance.

Wildly. With abandon.

In fact, they gave a name to the dance, one you may have heard of - the tarantella.

However, in these same regions in Italy, rites of the god Bacchus were held, which involved...

dancing and some serious partying, also known as a "bacchanalia."

Coincidence?