The CashFlow

Ten years ago today — March 10, 2000 — the Nasdaq, a tech-dominated stock index, hit its all-time high, at 5132.52. (It closed yesterday at 2340.68; on October 9, 2002, it got as low as 1114.11.) The Nasdaq's insane growth through the late 1990s was a function of the dot-com bubble, the first wave of Internet mania that sent the stocks of useless companies making worthless products — or, in some cases, no products at all — into the stratosphere.

CNN Money marks the anniversary with a rundown of the 10 biggest dot-com flops of all time — not necessarily those that lost the most money, but those that for whatever reason have stuck in the public mind as emblematic of that bizarre economic moment.

Topping the list, unsurprisingly, is Pets.com, the retailer with the obnoxious sock-puppet mascot, which for some reason thought that people buying dog food and chew toys online was a gold mine just waiting to be exploited. Others that made the cut include TheGlobe.com (an early social-media site), Webvan (grocery deliveries) and DrKoop.com (a health-information site from a former U.S. Surgeon General).

If you were there at the time, the list will make you shake your head at the memory. If you were too young, well, enjoy — and don't poke too much fun at the people who started these companies, or at the investors who lost their shirts. It's their entrepreneurial spirit we're still relying on today to get the U.S. economy back on track. Because say what you will about the absurdity of the late-'90s dot-com craze, but a roaring stock market, a national budget surplus and a frenzied business climate are a hell of a lot better than what we've got today.