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Economy

The Sumerians invented compound interest before the wheel

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

Humanity's priorities have always been tragically corporate. Long before anyone figured out how to easily roll a cart from point A to point B, the Sumerians in Mesopotamia had already established sophisticated ledgers for charging compound interest on grain and silver loans. Getting trapped in an inescapable cycle of debt is quite literally one of the oldest human inventions, predating basic transportation.

The Sumerians invented compound interest before the wheel
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