By April Redmond

My daughter and I decided to peddle some of our handmade wares at the local flea market this past weekend.

Naturally, we both wondered where the term "flea market" actually came from. Did people really sell fleas at the market? Were they sold in jars, boxes or off the backs of animals? Was there a hidden flea circus nearby to promote the sale?

Driven by curiosity, we did a little research. As it turns out, there were actual fleas involved—just not in the way we imagined.

The term originated in Paris, France, in the late 19th century (who would have guessed?). In the 1860s, scavengers known as chiffonniers (ragpickers) pulled off the modern-day equivalent of a Dumpster dive, hunting through Parisian garbage to find discarded items to resell.

Soon after, Baron Haussmann launched a massive city cleanup, driving the ragpickers and their allegedly contaminated goods out of the city center. Most of them relocated just outside the city walls to an area called Saint-Ouen.

By 1885, the more pristine upper-class Parisians had given this bustling market of trash-pickers the eloquent name Marché aux Puces, which translates to "Market of the Fleas." The name was entirely literal: the secondhand clothes and furniture sold by these "filth mongers" were notoriously infested with actual fleas.

Over the decades, flea markets significantly stepped up their game. Informal swap meets and tailgate sales gained massive popularity in America.

Savvy organizers realized they could rent out large spaces to vendors, transforming the concept into massive community sales. This evolution paved the way for the popular antique and flea markets we see today — some operating as permanent venues, others popping up just for the weekend.

Today, flea markets — including the historic, sprawling Les Puces de Saint-Ouen — are hugely popular. The ragpickers of the past have transformed into master salespeople, and these meets are the place to find everything you didn't know you needed or wanted (minus the actual fleas). As the old saying goes, one man's trash truly is another man's treasure.