Gold 1. The term “gold” is the from the Proto-Indo-European base *ghel / *ghol meaning “yellow,” “green,” or possibly “bright.” 2. Gold is so rare that the world pours more steel in an hour than it has poured gold since the beginning of recorded history. 3. Gold has been discovered on every continent on earth. 4. Gold melts at 1064.43° Centigrade. It can conduct both heat and electricity and it never rusts. 5. Due to its high value, most gold discovered throughout history is still in circulation. However, it is thought that 80% of the world’s gold is still in the ground. 6. Seventy-five percent of all gold in circulation has been extracted since 1910. 7. A medical study in France during the early twentieth century suggests that gold is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. 8. Gold is so pliable that it can be made into sewing thread. An ounce of gold can be stretched over 50 miles. 9. Gold is edible. Some Asian countries put gold in fruit, jelly snacks, coffee, and tea. Since at least the 1500s, Europeans have been putting gold leaf in bottles of liquor, such as Danziger Goldwasser and Goldschlager. Some Native American tribes believed consuming gold could allow humans to levitate. 10. The largest gold nugget ever found is the “Welcome Stranger” discovered by John Deason and Richard Oates in Australia on February 5, 1869. The nugget is 10 by 25 inches and yielded 2,248 ounces of pure gold. It was found just two inches below the ground surface. 11. Amid recession fears in March 2008, the price of gold topped $1,000 an ounce for the first time in history. 12. Traditionally, investors try to preserve their assets during hard economic times by investing in precious metals, such as gold and silver. The World Gold Council released a report in February 2009 that indicated the demand for gold rose sharply in the last half of 2008. 13. The Dow/Gold ratio, which shows how much gold it would take to buy one share of the Dow, is a good indicator of how bad a recession is. In early 2009, the Dow/Gold ratio appeared to be heading toward the same low ratios that occurred during the 1930s and 1980s. 14. Gold is chemically inert, which also explains why it never rusts and does not cause skin irritation. If gold jewelry irritates the skin, it is likely that the gold was mixed with some other metal. 15. One cubic foot of gold weighs half a ton. The world’s largest gold bar weighs 200 kg (440 lb).b
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 20:24:54 +0000
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