tulipmania

A craze that occurred in the 1630s in Holland when bulb growers discovered that certain tulip bulbs developed flowers of exceptional beauty—striped, feathered, and wildly colored. Speculation in tulip bulbs among the wealthy Dutch became a national obsession. As the passion for rare tulips raged, the market became so flooded with overpriced bulbs that it collapsed. With so many citizens facing ruin, the government outlawed tulip speculation. Today we know that the unusual flowers were produced by a virus, which can be introduced and controlled.