Money WondersPlay

Bubbles, Scams & CrashesBubbles

What a Bubble Is

When prices float far above what things are worth

Scientists built a market where every trader knew what a share would pay. Prices still soared, then crashed. How?

You'll find out

  • Who pays for everyone's profits
  • Why knowing the value didn't help
  • What keeps a bubble floating

Why it matters

Every boom you'll live through, in homes, crypto or stocks, runs on one engine. Seeing it tells you where you stand.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 127 · Zone 15

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More in this zone

  1. 128FraudThe Ponzi ShapeOld investors are paid with new investors' money
  2. 129Crashes25 Years to Get BackThe Dow didn't reclaim its 1929 peak until 1954
  3. 130FraudRed Flags of a ScamGuaranteed, urgent, secret
  4. 131FraudSmart People Don't Get ScammedYoung adults report losing money to fraud more often than older ones
  5. 132Market ManipulationPump and DumpHype a stock, sell it to the crowd, disappear
  6. 133CrowdsTulip ManiaDutch traders bid single tulip bulbs up to fantasy prices, though the crash was smaller than the legend says
  7. 134HerdingFollowing the HerdWe trust a crowd even when it's wrong
  8. 135Fraud HistoryPonzi Wasn't FirstA Boston woman ran the same scheme 40 years earlier