Tulipmania

I was astounded yesterday when two people I tend to find very intelligent and informed, admitted to me that they did not know what Tulipmania was (I was reading a book on the subject, it was not some soul-bearing session about random ignorance). In light of this and since I think Tulipmania is a fascinating tidbit of history, I give you the following short summary:

Tulipmania (or Tulipomania) took place in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Tulips came from abroad, originally a wild flower tamed by the Turks, but thrived when they were brought to Holland. A market was born--a highly speculative, many times traded and sold market of tulip bulbs was born. Men gained fortunes overnight and many began experimenting with cross-breeding. Traders of bulbs could earn as much as 60,00o florins ($44,000) a month "on the wind" (bulbs that had not yet bloomed and were not assured to be special). Local governments tried to shut down the trading and even attempted to outlaw it, but it continued illegally. One of the greatest desires was for a pure black tulip, but horticulturalists also bred tulips "flamed" with two colors and mosaic tulips (who's patterns originally came from a virus). At its peak a handful of tulips sold for the equivalent of $44,000. Then, as suddenly as it had begun the boom died. The market crashed, thousands were ruined, many were bankrupt, even the country's leading power brokers were ruined.

Tulipmania is now a term in economics defined as: a situation in which some prices behave in a way that appears not to be fully explainable by economic fundamentals. Fascinating, no? All that drama over a flower, I do not know how our basic education system has failed to teach students about this... Also, does this remind anyone of beanie babies?