Business at a faster clip
A clipper ship is a ship with lots of sails.
More precisely, it was a vessel with a remarkably large sail-plan (surface area of sails)—ideal for moving people or cargo as fast as possible.
Ship builders once made a fortune building and selling the ships for profit, both for the trip between China and England (during the mid-1800 tea-trade), and between New York and San Fransisco (during the California Gold Rush).
It’s a great case-study to say the least. Not the least because the shipwrights who build them were in search of tea or gold. But because, by the craze of greed and groupthink (and the good sense to avoid them)—these merchants found a better (albiet more modest) way to make it rich.
Not with tea or gold. But with the means to go out and find it.