YOD

Tulip mania was a period in the 17th century during which prices for tulip bulbs reached irrationally high levels and then collapsed almost overnight. The picture to the right is a tulip, known as “the Viceroy”, as displayed in a Dutch catalog of the time. The picture serves as a reminder to us of the potential madness of crowds, perhaps no better popularized by Charles Mackay’s 1841 book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, which outlined such behavior: Many individuals grew suddenly rich. A golden bait hung temptingly out before the people, and, one after the other, they rushed to the tulip marts, like flies around a honey-pot. Every one imagined that the passion for tulips would last … Read more