South Sea Company share price bubble 1720

A British stock bubble wiped out 90% of its share price

£1,000 → Under £100

In 1720, investors rushed to buy shares in Britain's South Sea Company, expecting enormous profits. Speculation pushed the price above £1,000. When confidence collapsed, shares fell below £100. The crash became one of history’s most famous examples of how expectations can drive prices far beyond a company’s underlying business.

Plants react to damage without consciously feeling pain

Plants can detect injury and react to it. But they do not have a brain, nerves, or pain receptors like animals do. Their response to damage is therefore not evidence that they consciously feel pain.

Medieval people drank water despite the popular myth

A common story claims that people in the Middle Ages avoided water because it was always unsafe. Historical evidence shows otherwise: people regularly drank water and often judged its quality by its source, appearance, smell and taste. Beer and wine were also common, but they did not replace water as an everyday drink.

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South Sea Company share price bubble 1720

A British stock bubble wiped out 90% of its share price

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