Thursday, October 27, 2005

Trivia of the Day

Two lasts of wheat 448 florins
Four lasts of rye 558
Four fat oxen 480
Eight fat swine 240
Twelve fat sheep 120
Two Hogsheads of wine 70
Four tuns of beer 3
Two tuns of butter 192
One thousand lbs. of cheese 120
A complete bed 100
A suit of clothes 80
A silver drinking-cup 60

Question: What did the above list purchase in 1636 Amsterdam?

Answer: One single root of the Viceroy tulip

Source - "The Tulipmania" from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay

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