The speculative mania of the 1920s centered on transformative technology. RCA, holding patents for radio and television, became the era's quintessential meme stock, mirroring modern investor excitement for AI companies like NVIDIA. This shows how new technology narratives consistently fuel market bubbles.

A surge in highly speculative assets may not indicate a strong economy. It can be a sign that people feel so far behind financially that they're placing huge bets, believing in an "only up" market out of desperation rather than confidence.

Melvin Capital went from a top hedge fund to down 50% in two weeks because they underestimated the collective power of retail investors on platforms like Reddit. This event introduced a new, unpredictable risk factor into institutional investing, driven by online community sentiment.

The number of public companies has nearly halved since the 90s, concentrating capital into fewer assets. This scarcity, combined with passive funds locking up float, creates structural imbalances. Sophisticated retail traders can now identify these situations and trigger gamma squeezes, challenging institutional dominance.

When facing economic ruin, humans don't become conservative. They enter a psychological 'lost domain' where they become risk-seeking, making high-stakes gambles like meme stocks or crypto in a desperate attempt to recover their losses in one move.

The recent gold rally was disconnected from institutional indicators like a falling dollar or rising break-evens. Instead, it was propelled by retail investors' fears of currency debasement, leading to meme-like behavior such as people lining up to get physical gold from vaults.

A viral story, even if satirical, about a trader losing everything by shorting Korean fried chicken after Jensen Huang ate some highlights a new market phenomenon. The immense cultural cachet of tech leaders can now trigger meme-stock-like behavior in completely unrelated sectors.

The Jelly Jelly meme coin's surprising market cap isn't pure speculation. Its sustained energy comes from being tied to the Jelly app, which is actively developed by Venmo's co-founder. This creates a feedback loop where the product's progress and community building provide a fundamental anchor for the coin's value.

The surprising correlation between the McDonald's McRib being on the menu and higher returns in both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin demonstrates how unconventional, even humorous, cultural events can function as market signals. This highlights the narrative-driven and sometimes irrational nature of financial markets and investor sentiment.