Tulips Tulips: the first 3000ish years Tulips have a much longer and more illustrious history than we previously thought.
Tulips Tulipmania was not irrational. In February 1637, the Dutch futures market had a reset on all outstanding contracts for tulips. The prices had reportedly been growing an unprecedented rate, and there was risk of systemic collapse of defaulted contracts.
Tulips King Midas - The Tulip's Forgotten Namesake King Midas voted for Pan, and Apollo became so enraged, he turned Midas' ears into donkeys' ears. Midas was embarrassed and tried to hide up the ears by wearing some sort of head covering, which likely resembled the tulip in a closed state.
Tulips Panic! in the Garden This month on Colorphilia, each week, we will be focusing on a different aspect of tulips. This week, I share the likely original meaning of the flower, and how the etymology became so tortured, convoluted, and misunderstood.
