The very first recorded investment bubble had to do with tulips in the Netherlands in the 17th century. At the time, new tulip varieties were traded at prices 20 times higher than the annual income of a skilled craftsman. In one story, someone even bought a special tulip bulb with 12 acres of land. The bubble burst, as they’ve done so many times since.
We tend to think bubbles are wrong. But they serve an important purpose. They finance creativity, opportunities and economic growth. The tulip mania of the Dutch Golden Age brought the development of many extraordinarily beautiful flowers. In the 19th century, many people made—and subsequently lost—a lot of money building the railways that provided the necessary infrastructure for the Industrial Revolution. Without the railway bubble, there wouldn’t have been an Industrial Revolution. More recently, we experienced the Internet bubble that imploded in 2000. Again many people lost a lot of money after others made fortunes. Yet the bubble laid the foundations for the digital infrastructure driving today’s economy.
THE TROUBLE WITH TULIPS! 🙂 IT IS ALL THEIR FAULT!!!!
http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/58/the-need-for-tulips/
The very first recorded investment bubble had to do with tulips in the Netherlands in the 17th century. At the time, new tulip varieties were traded at prices 20 times higher than the annual income of a skilled craftsman. In one story, someone even bought a special tulip bulb with 12 acres of land. The bubble burst, as they’ve done so many times since.
We tend to think bubbles are wrong. But they serve an important purpose. They finance creativity, opportunities and economic growth. The tulip mania of the Dutch Golden Age brought the development of many extraordinarily beautiful flowers. In the 19th century, many people made—and subsequently lost—a lot of money building the railways that provided the necessary infrastructure for the Industrial Revolution. Without the railway bubble, there wouldn’t have been an Industrial Revolution. More recently, we experienced the Internet bubble that imploded in 2000. Again many people lost a lot of money after others made fortunes. Yet the bubble laid the foundations for the digital infrastructure driving today’s economy.