Tulip | Fever

: The most sought-after flowers were those with striped, "broken" patterns, which were actually caused by a tulip-specific virus.

When we think of financial collapses, images of Wall Street traders screaming at tickers or the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 often come to mind. But long before the dot-com bust or the crypto winter of 2022, there was a flower. Specifically, a tulip. Tulip Fever

The tulip was not native to the Netherlands. It had been imported from the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey). Botanist Carolus Clusius planted the first significant Dutch tulip garden in 1593. Soon, the flower became a sign of power. But a quirk of nature turned this beauty into a weapon of mass financial destruction: : The most sought-after flowers were those with

Where Tulip Fever excels is in its pure, intoxicating atmosphere. Specifically, a tulip

Fans of lush period dramas like The Duchess , Atonement , or Dangerous Liaisons . It’s a beautiful, flawed, and wonderfully guilty pleasure—a bouquet that is stunning to look at, even if its scent is a little artificial.

is not just a history lesson; it is a behavioral warning. As long as humans have greed and fear, we will have bubbles.