A eulogy for the Futures

March 3, 2016 8:29 AM

Remember this scene in Ferris Bueller's Day off? Those were the open outcry commodity trading pits at the Chicago Board of Trade, which were founded in 1848 and finally shut down last July, replaced entirely by computers. These were four guys (and one woman) in the funny coloured jackets: An oral history of the pits. (Compiled by John McDermott for MEL Magazine, a medium publication)

Bonus link: How trader's hand signals work.

posted by Diablevert (10 comments total)

Related highly excellent comment in this related thread by Guernsey Halleck (story's about open outcry at NYMEX and COMEX, not CBOT, but still).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:04 AM on March 3, 2016

I watched that movie a lot and those hand signals are totally part of my childhood.
posted by saul wright at 9:12 AM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]

You can still play the home version!
posted by chavenet at 9:50 AM on March 3, 2016

Also: A eulogy for Chicago's trading pits by "Large Marge" Teller

People were screaming in a language I couldn't comprehend.

There was palpable fear and adrenaline in the air.

I fell instantly in love.

If you had the guts and the instinct then it didn't matter if you were a skinny, 23-year old girl.

People would trade with you if they could see or hear you.
posted by chavenet at 9:53 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

I watched that movie a lot and those hand signals are totally part of my childhood.

for me it was the water drop sound effect Cameron did by flicking his finger against his cheek
posted by bitteroldman at 9:54 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Large Marge is quoted extensively in McDermott's piece.
posted by Diablevert at 10:55 AM on March 3, 2016

In the highly unlikely event that anyone wondered what I looked like as a teenager, the answer is Cameron. People used to stop me on the street to tell me this.
posted by 4ster at 2:44 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

for me it was the water drop sound effect Cameron did by flicking his finger against his cheek

Totally, that too. I practiced for hours to get it just right.
posted by saul wright at 5:54 PM on March 3, 2016

I had a friend who was a trader at the Merc in the early 80s, so i actually got to visit the trading floor during the trading day back in its heyday. It was an exciting place to be.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 8:43 PM on March 3, 2016

I so want to get a jacket.
posted by rhizome at 12:14 AM on March 4, 2016