There’s nothing like going to a flea market and making a “discovery”. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get really luck, and sometimes there’s no luck and all. That’s what flea markets are all about.
I love a good flea market as much as anybody but I’ve always wondered why they called it a flea market. I thought maybe a long time ago someone (at the then, just plain old market) was selling some items, maybe rugs, and they were infested with fleas. Someone hoping to purchase the rugs noticed the pest and as they scratched insanely yelled “what is this, a flea market!”. And as things have a way of sticking, it stuck.
Needless to say, I was wrong. Think you can come up with something better? Ok, I’ll give you five minutes to think about it. Go.
Done? Ok, let’s see how you did. Well, as it turns out, flea markets have absolutely nothing to do with fleas. Way back in the day, during dutch colonialism there used to be markets where people sold odds and ends just like today’s flea market. These markets took place in the Vallie (valley) which was located in downtown Manhattan. Vallie was soon abbreviated to Vlie which then started being pronounced flea. Yep, folks that’s how it happened. Some how we got a flea out of the Valley.
