![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7F03aEfsI4H3Z69mmC-AkL9y2fJ1u8JPkqpK0MIqTWuDdfDkcW8GwU99YfMm2VOm0_AiIN3RC5AS3vMgAR71rEk_NUIt6xSJLC3aOs3Y-KRkcra1pcLRnCPKfV5kmlXc0_Eaj1JIdHMlk/s400/captain_samuel_wallis_1728-183_hi.jpg)
"When HMS Dolphin's sailors found that a twenty-penny iron nail could buy sexual encounter on Tahiti in 1767, neither sailors nor Tahitian men could believe their luck; whether the Tahitian women were as happy as their menfolk about this bargain goes unrecorded. Twelve days later, rampant inflation had set in and sex now cost a nine-inch marlinspike."*
Matt Ridley, The Rational Optimist. How Prosperity Evolves, Fourth Estate, London, 2010.Het prentje: Captain Samuel Wallis Being Received by Queen Oberea on the Island of Tahiti.
*: Wikipedia geeft interessante aanvullende informatie: "This trade became so extensive that the loss of nails started to threaten Dolphin's physical integrity."
2 opmerkingen:
dat boek staat ook al eventjes op mijn 'te lezen'-lijst. Lezers hebben het toch niet makkelijk...
Het is topsport, de leessport.
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