So I was reading an alternate history humor book, and one thing stood out to me. The Dutch ended up creating a speculative bubble in producing flowers, in particular the tulip. To think that stolid, industrious Dutchmen would give up their jobs to plant flower gardens somehow made me chuckle. I'm here to ask: could this have ever happened? The idea of flowers as a major cash crop for a country, let alone the Netherlands, seems hilarious.