Ever spotted a field full of tulips and felt like you"d stepped into a painting? Well, you are not alone. Today, there are more than 3,000 registered varieties of tulips grown around the world. Originally found in the wild across Central Asia, tulips were cultivated by the Ottomans as early as the 10th century. These flowers made their way into Europe during the 16th century after being introduced through diplomatic and trade routes. By the 1630s, the Netherlands experienced tulip mania, one of the first recorded economic bubbles, where single bulbs could sell for more than a skilled worker"s annual salary.
Canadian Tulip Festival
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Centuries of time in a Delicate Arch
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Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
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Thick-billed raven, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia
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Guild houses of Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium
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Teide National Park, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
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Saving and celebrating honey bees
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Camel thorn trees, Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia
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Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA
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The Bahamas
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Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
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A window to the Pacific
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Pride and Joy
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Plate ice along Lake Superior, Grand Marais, Minnesota, United States
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Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
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Sassnitz lighthouse, Rügen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
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Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, United States
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So close, yet so far
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Beech trees and anemone wildflowers, Jutland, Denmark
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Füzér Castle in the Zemplén Mountains, Hungary
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Happy Welsh New Year!
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Þorrablót, Icelandic midwinter festival
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A road not for the faint of heart
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International Rock Day
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Meet for lunch?
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A temple to treasure
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Past below, future ahead
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Macaroni penguins, Drake Passage, Chile
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American Red Cross pioneers
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A snapshot of Spring
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International Day of Peace
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

