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This Is What The Tech Stock Bubble Looked Like In the 17th Century

Tech stocks have been all the rage in recent years, and of course there was a huge bubble in tech stocks less than 20 years ago.

This Is What The Tech Stock Bubble Looked Like In the 17th Century
An attendee looks at the screen of his smartphone as he sits in the audience of a session on day three of the World Economic Forum. (Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg)

Every week, hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway take you on a not-so-random walk through hot topics in markets, finance and economics.

Tech stocks have been all the rage in recent years, and of course there was a huge bubble in tech stocks less than 20 years ago. But it turns out that there have been bubbles in "tech" going back a lot longer than that. On this week's episode of the Odd Lots podcast, we speak to Jamie Catherwood, an investment analyst at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, who is also a major financial history buff. He explained to us the story of the tech stock bubble in the 17th century, when investors went crazy for schemes that facilitated underwater breathing and the search for sunken treasures.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Topher Forhecz at tforhecz@bloomberg.net

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