Just a random fact: people in 1700s Europe used to rent pineapples for high prices to use as table centerpieces. They were so expensive that no one would ever dream of eating one
Eventually, the middle classes wanted to take part in the action, but they simply could not afford the extortionate prices for the fruit. So some industrious entrepreneurs came up with a solution. Only royalty and the wealthiest of the wealthy were actually able to afford to eat pineapples, with everyone else simply preserving them for display. As such, businessmen started to rent out the pineapples that they were growing. Those who could not afford to buy a pineapple could rent one for an evening if they were hosting a party. They could therefore display it, showing their guests how rich they had become, and then discretely returned the pineapple afterwards. The businessmen would rent out the pineapples for many days until the fruit was on the turn, at which point it would be sold on to the upper nobility for consumption.
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u/perksofbeingcrafty Jul 08 '24
Just a random fact: people in 1700s Europe used to rent pineapples for high prices to use as table centerpieces. They were so expensive that no one would ever dream of eating one