#AltcoinETFsPostponed The next time you hear about "bankruptcy", think of a wooden bench shattered in the square of medieval Venice.

It is not a metaphor. In Venice, during the Middle Ages, when a banker could no longer pay his debts, the authorities would proceed with a punishment as practical as it was symbolic: his workbench was publicly broken in two.

Imagine the scene: in the crowded areas of Rialto or Piazza San Marco, where money changers and bankers conducted their business, the bench of an insolvent banker was literally broken in front of everyone. A clear message for anyone: this man has failed, do not do business with him.

From this theatrical practice comes the expression "bankruptcy", from the Latin "banca rupta" (broken bench). A term we still use today, centuries later, without thinking about its so concrete and dramatic origin.

The tradition has disappeared, but the word has remained, reminding us that our everyday expressions often hide fascinating stories of which we have lost memory.