Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, Netherlands Apr 30, 2026

Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, Netherlands

Imagine a flower sparking a financial frenzy. Sounds unlikely, right? Yet in the 1630s, tulips did exactly that in the Netherlands. During tulip mania, rare bulbs became luxury items traded for astonishing sums—some valued at prices comparable to a house. Why so valuable? Unusual colors and striped patterns were scarce and unpredictable, and collectors wanted the rarest varieties they could find.

© Martin Ruegner/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Apr 30, 2018Swinging into International Jazz Day
Apr 30, 2019It s International Jazz Day
Apr 30, 2020What kind of bird laid these eggs?
Apr 30, 2021The Spirit of Harlem by Louis Delsarte
Apr 30, 2022International Jazz Day
Apr 30, 2023International Jazz Day
Apr 30, 2024Cheetah in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Apr 30, 2025International Jazz Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 22, 2018We did not invent this, honest
Aug 24, 2021Surf s always up in Paia
Feb 13, 2020Midwinter freeze
Oct 3, 2020In the belly of Fat Bear Week
Feb 18, 2019Presidents Day in America’s front yard
Jul 12, 2021A lofty lighthouse and a little ocean spray
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park anniversary
Mar 19, 2019The smoke before the bonfire
Mar 7, 2022Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
Jan 9, 2024Balloon Ascension Day
Jan 13, 2020Welcome to California
May 2, 2020Morocco in bloom
Sep 19, 2020Arrr, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day
Mar 29, 2025Superbloom in Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Mar 26, 2019The forecast calls for blooms
Jun 30, 2022Asteroid Day
Jul 4, 2022Independence Day
Oct 28, 2022Frankenstein Friday
Oct 2, 2023World Architecture Day
May 25, 2019Traveling warblers
Nov 30, 2018In the Highlands for Saint Andrew s Day
Sep 12, 2023North Sea at sunset, Norddorf, Germany
Mar 14, 2022Pi Day
Dec 8, 2023La Rocque Harbour, Island of Jersey
Jun 9, 2022Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
Apr 11, 2020Think deep thoughts
Mar 6, 2019Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Jan 31, 2024International Zebra Day
Mar 1, 2023Womens History Month
Mar 11, 2022We stand with Ukraine