10 Facts About Gold You Might Not Know
Fun Facts About Gold
We all love gold. Gold is fun, malleable, shiny, and downright cool. Here are 10 facts about gold you might not have known:
1. The word “gold” is derived from the proto-Indo-European base word meaning “yellow” or “bright”.
2. Gold is so rare that more steel is poured every hour in the world than gold has been poured since the beginning of recorded history.
3. It is thought that anywhere from 80 to 95 percent of the world’s gold is still undiscovered.
4. The largest gold nugget ever is the “Welcome Stranger”. The nugget is 10 by 25 inches and weighs approximately 2,248 ounces.
5. The world’s largest stockpile of gold is not at Fort Knox. It is instead located five stories beneath the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It holds 25 percent of the world’s gold reserve.
6. Carats of gold are a weight measured in 10, 12, 14, 18, 22, or 24. The higher the number, the greater the purity. Pure gold is 24 carats and can be molded by hand.
7. Gold can never rust and does not cause skin irritation because it is chemically inert.
8. Gold is worth $1,275 an ounce as of October 15, 2013. In 2008, it was worth $1,000 an ounce.
9. Gold is incredibly pliable. One ounce of gold can be stretched to more than 50 miles.
10. Weird fact: Gold is edible. Some countries put gold in their fruit, jelly snacks, coffee and tea. Europeans have been putting gold leaf in bottles of liquor, such as Goldwasser and Goldschlager. Some Native American tribes believed gold could allow people to levitate.
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