In 1955, two onion traders cornered the onion futures market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Siegal and Kosuga controlled 98% of the onions in Chicago and had 30 million pounds of onions in storage. They ended up flooding the market driving the price of a 50 pound bag to 10¢, which is less than the cost of the bag the onions were stored in. The previous year, a 50 pound bag cost $2.75.

By the mid-1950s, onion futures contracts were the most traded product on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 1955, they accounted for 20% of its trades.

Siegal and Kosuga made millions, however it drove many onion farmers into bankruptcy. This led to the Onions Futures Act being passed that bans the trade of future contracts on onions. This is also why onions are excluded as a commodity in the Commodity Exchange Act

The Onions Futures Act also bans the trading of motion picture box office receipts.