Upon Marco Polo’s triumphant return to Venice in 1295, he arrived not only very much alive… but also very rich, laden with gold, jade, silk, ivory, porcelain, jewellery, and, of course, noodles.

The famed explorer had just spent 20 years exploring the mysteries of the East. He was gone so long, in fact, that people thought he was dead…

But Polo’s festive return didn’t last long. Venice’s peace was beset by war against another nation-state, Genoa.

War changed everything. Polo was thrown into prison.

Not one to waste time, he decided to relay his most important treasures – his memories – to a fellow prisoner… dictating what became an enduring classic: The Travels of Marco Polo.

My favourite chapter?

“How the Great Khan Causes the Bark of Trees, Made into Something Like Paper, to Pass for Money All Over His Country”

You see, back in the 13th century, paper money was not yet a thing in Polo’s Europe.

But the explorer had served in the court of the great Kublai Khan. And in his chronicles, Polo marvelled over the fact that people would put value into something so common as modified bark.

If Marco Polo were alive today, he would probably marvel at the immense amount of blind trust people put into the stock markets.

I do, too.