3rd Century BCE:  In order to stop inflation, Roman Emperor Diocletian fixed prices on consumer goods and declared that anyone who charged extra would be put to death.  This led people to hoard commodities.  In response, Diocletian banned hoarding under punishment of death, at which time terrified citizens began shutting down their businesses altogether.  Naturally, the Emperor decreed they had to stay open.  The punishment?  Death of course.

This comes from the latest issue of Mental Floss, on the sidebar to “4 Other Times the US Economy Tanked”, a list of 3 good examples and one that shouldn’t belong, and a sidebar on World Historic Economic Tankings.  Cynics amongst us can tell us if the principals of Diocletian aren’t basically replicated in a softer, fuzzier version.

As for the rest of Mental Floss — if you’re not interested in this, maybe you’d be more interested in the article listing examples of Famous Feral Children?

And, incidentally, the magazine got his year wrong by a suffix — AD, not BCE.

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