If you're a regular reader of this blog, then I thank you for your attention. I truly hope the content I provide helps you make the most of gold as an investment option. It certainly has historical power in providing preservation of wealth and a hedge against economic calamity.
However, gold is far more than just an investment asset class. It has thousands of years of history as a currency and measure of wealth. However, it's also a symbol of luxury and wealth.
Gold is often synonymous with sophistication, and I find this sentiment to be accurate. That's because the metal is actually quite sophisticated in its nature and has many uses. Today, I'd like to share with you some interesting facts about gold that you probably don't know.
1. Yes, You Can Be Fooled
I hate to tell you this, but fool's good is actually real. The element is called pyrite. It looks just like gold does.
2. Investors Are in Second Place
Half of all global gold production winds up being used in jewelry. Only 40% of all the gold mined each year winds up in the hands of investors. The remaining 10% is used by various industry applications.
3. It Melts in Your Hand
When gold is pure, it is also soft. In fact, you can mold it using your own hands. It's actually so malleable that a piece of it the size of an American quarter could be made into a sheet of 100 square feet, which is enough room for 50 people to stand close together.
4. A Global Commodity
Gold has been found on all seven continents. However, the oceans also hold nearly 20 million pounds of gold. There are even gold ores underneath the seafloor, but there's no real practical way of mining them yet.
5. Gold Is Out of This World
Astronauts have helmet visors coated with seriously thin layers of gold. This minimizes their glare. It also prevents heat from the direct sunlight they have to sometimes work in.
6. From Other Worlds?
Deposits of gold might be possible on Mercury, Mars, and Venus. Many scientists believe gold only happens in the explosion of a supernova, and that all gold on this world is just particles accumulated from those explosions. That would make it likely other planets also have these particles deposited.
7. Rock Star
One asteroid in the vicinity of Earth has an estimated 20 billion tons of its own gold. The estimated market value of all metals of asteroid Psyche 16 is $10,000 quadrillion. You can bet they're sending up a probe to examine things further.
8. The Envy of Silver?
Silver is a metal that is actually even rarer than gold. However, gold has a lot more value. This might be why so many places deal in gold and silver at the same time.
9. Gold Is Insensitive
Gold as an element is not chemically reactive. It won't tarnish or rust. That means if you have irritations or sensitivities from wearing gold jewelry, it might not be pure gold.
10. Gold Can Be Manufactured
Gold is something that can be made using other elements. I was excited when I first heard about this, but I also figured there would be things keeping me and others from doing it. That turned out to be true.
It's a very expensive process that costs many times more than the tiny amount of gold you can make. It's also potentially very hazardous. You need nuclear reactions to do it, so I think I'll stick to blogging about gold IRAs for now.
11. We've Only Mined 20%
Approximately 80% of all the gold on this planet is still untapped. That's around 52,000 tons. The estimated value is more than $2 trillion.
12. You Are Made of Gold
Your body is roughly 0.2% gold. Just one strand of hair can have traces of 14 unique elements, including gold. Your blood might even have traces of the metal and element in it.
13. Trees Have Gold
The Eucalyptus trees of Australia have gold content within their leaves. The roots of these trees can get more than 130 feet underground trying to find water. This is where gold deposits are, and the trees sap up gold particles at the microscopic level before moving them up to the leaves via photosynthesis.
Make Conversations Great Again
In an age where people spend more time staring at their phones than looking at each other, normal conversations can often be tedious, dry, and dull. However, when armed with these interesting facts about gold, you might just be able to sprinkle some luxurious tidbits into small talk that gets peoples' attention from time to time.
