The tulip reached Holland in 1593 and was, at first, looked upon as a curiosity. There soon developed an irrational demand for new species. Specimens were sold at awesomely high prices. In their avarice, speculators bought and sold the same tulip ten times in one day. The entire Dutch population suffered from the craze. There was an insatiable desire for each new color or shape. At one point a man purchased a house for three bulbs! Before long the inevitable crash came and the demand for bulbs quickly reached its nadir. A $1,500 bulb could be bought for $1,50. With the moribund tulip market came financial disaster to thousands of people.
- specimen – an individual animal, plant, piece of a mineral, etc., used as an example of its species or type for scientific study or display.
- awesomely – secara mengagumkan
- avarice – extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
- craze – an enthusiasm for a particular activity or object that typically appears suddenly and achieves widespread but short-lived popularity.
- insatiable – (of an appetite or desire) impossible to satisfy.
- inevitable – certain to happen; unavoidable.
- nadir – the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization.
- moribund – (of a person) at the point of death.