"Even the origin of the word 'Tulip' lies in the word 'Turban'."

June 3, 2013 8:12 AM

The History of the Tulip: an educational animated short video for the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam. [via]
posted by quin (4 comments total)

That was short and sweet and nifty. I love tulips, had heard about tulipmania but had no idea of the flower's origins. Thanks for this!
posted by kinnakeet at 10:34 AM on June 3, 2013

I didn't know they had been introduced from Turkey. Neat!
posted by matosnic10 at 10:42 AM on June 3, 2013

Much of the incidental municipal decoration (railings, tiles, poster art, business logos) in Istanbul uses the tulip motif, and the little glasses you drink tea from in Turkey are shaped like tulips.

It's also worth noting that Turkish tulips have a slightly different shape than (what many Americans anyhow would think of as) a typical tulips - less rounded at the base and more flaring at the top.
posted by aught at 12:19 PM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

Mike Dash's book Tulipomania is an absolutely brilliant read on the history of the tulip, its origins and the "Tulip Fever" which gripped the Netherlands back in the 1600s (I think).

Certain tulip bulbs were selling for several times the average yearly wage of people. Just an unbelievable slice of history.
posted by chris88 at 8:29 PM on June 3, 2013