Remember when your history teachers lectured you and your classmates about the Gold Standard? Here’s a quick refresher in case you don’t remember.
The Gold Standard is a monetary method that determines how much a nation’s currency is worth, depending on how much gold the country possesses as well as how much gold is worth at any given time. Countries worldwide used the gold standard to back their currency. However, the gold standard is now an essentially antiquated monetary system. Most countries abandoned this system sometime during the 1900s and relied on other systems to support their currency.
Today, many countries still maintain large gold reserves in case of a financial crisis. However, gold’s use doesn’t just dwell in currency. In fact, many people throughout the world have discovered some incredibly unique and surprising uses for gold. Read more about these uses below.
Have you ever wondered what that orange tint is on an astronaut’s sun visor? It’s actually gold. This precious metal protects astronauts and their space equipment from the sun and harmful radiation. Not only does gold deflect sunlight and protect astronauts’ eyes, but gold prevents many spacecrafts, rockets, satellites, and other space equipment from overheating during space missions.
Makeup and beauty trends change constantly. Thanks to Umo, a Chinese cosmetics manufacturer, women can now purchase a line of gold beauty treatments including gold facials, eye masks, and other lavish spa treatments.
Interestingly enough, people have used gold in cosmetics since the days of Cleopatra. Gold purportedly provides many health benefits, such as rejuvenated skin and reduced wrinkles.
You’ve seen gold toilets, showers, and sinks before, but only in the movies. However, this isn’t just a Hollywood-invented luxury. Entrepreneurs throughout the world choose to display their wealth by incorporating gold in interesting ways. So why not own a yacht filled with gold plumbing?
That’s exactly what one Arabian businessman decided to do. He modified his yacht, the Majesty 135, with gold-plated toilets. Designers inlaid each toilet with three layers of 21-karat gold. Gold workers heated the gold to over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that each gold layer wrapped perfectly around each bowl. The venture cost over $15,000 per toilet.
Of all the things you want to eat in the world, gold wouldn’t even make your top-thousand list. However, haute cuisine has taken on an entirely unique meaning over the last several years. Chefs craft their culinary masterpieces with edible gold foil and other delicious ingredients. Some of the most well-known gold foods and garnishes include:
Goldschlager-a cinnamon schnapps that contains gold foil.
The Golden Phoenix cupcake-a decadent chocolate cupcake made with 24-karat gold.
Harvey Nichols’ Luxury Champagne Lollipops-sweet candies filled with flakes of gold foil.
Baconery’s Gold-Infused Chocolate Bacon-chocolate-wrapped bacon dusted with flakes of 23-karat gold.
Some people believe that their fish deserve the best homes that money can buy. In 2010, designer Stuart Hughes crafted a luxury aquarium the Aquavista Dinosaur Gold Edition priced at $4.8 million dollars.
Hughes constructed each tank’s frame from roughly 150 pounds of 24-karat gold. Additionally, each aquarium incorporates two side panels carved from mammoth tusks. The tanks also feature a digitally-controlled feeding station, automated heating and lighting, and a dual-filtration system.
Each tank is incredibly low maintenance-in fact, owners of these tanks only need to clean them for less than 15 minutes per month. That averages to less than three hours of clean time and maintenance per year!
Pharmaceuticals and Supplements
If you visit Egypt, Japan, or India, you could easily access gold “vitamins.” Natives of these countries actually ingest gold tablets, film, or powder as part of their daily vitamin supplements.
Additionally, gold was a common treatment for rheumatoid arthritis until the 1990s. Doctors injected gold into the veins and muscles of rheumatoid arthritis patients or gave it to them orally. Today, patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis undergo newer treatments that have fewer side effects.
One of the more interesting medical uses of gold, however, lies in cancer treatments. Oncologists treat some patients with gold coated medicine pellets. Oncologists place these pellets in the cancer patient’s affected area, typically around specific targeted cancer cells. These pellets then activate and deliver medicines to treat the cancer.
You’ve probably seen someone with gold teeth. But did you know that people use gold in other implants too? Gold is especially resistant to bacteria, which makes it the perfect substance for pacemakers, stents, and other medical devices. Gold is also very durable, which means that implants made with gold won’t deteriorate as quickly as other materials.
Don’t let the Gold Standard be your only source of gold-related knowledge. Remember these unique uses for gold and use them as a conversation starter at your next party or with friends. Your friends or family will be surprised at the plethora of information you possess about gold and its various uses.
If you have a gold item you want to sale, don’t delay, because gold is always in demand. You never know all the reasons why buyers might need it!