Clutches for Less

Posts Tagged ‘uses for gold’

Gold has been mined for at least 5,000 years, a long time before a practical use could be found for the metal – primarily it was sought after because of its use in making jewelry and it never lost its golden luster. The luster attracted man's eye and still does to this day, it shines brightly and it does not rust or lose its luster as it ages.

Gold is also soft and easily worked which lends it to being shaped into whatever decorative adornment the craftsman’s imagination can conceive – some of the most intricate designs of jewelry from ancient times have been uncovered, despite the thousands of years that may have elapsed since being formed, precisely because of these qualities which gold has.

Gold is also rare, which adds to the perceived value of the metal; if you were to gather all the gold that has been mined from the start of men seeking out this precious metal, right the way to the present day you would have a cube of gold measuring a little of 70 feet square – you could drop it in the average sized home! Most of the gold in circulation today has been mined since the turn of the 20^th Century, even with all the hype of the California Gold Rushes in the late 19^th Century.

As a monetary system developed, gold was a leading support of the economic system of coutries all over the world as the moved from agricultural-based economies to industrail-based economies. Gold was used initially for minting coins with the sovereign or ruler of the country stamping their faces and marks upon the coinage to demonstrate a quality standard. The value of a coin was inherent in the value of the gold which it contained – in essence a dollar’s worth of gold went into creating a dollar gold coin.

As societies continued to develop, gold was used less and less in the actual coinage and instead, was used to provide the asset backing to the paper currency which was issued – paper currency is simply a “promise” by a country’s central bank or treasury department. This led to countries around the world buying gold bullion simply to store in a repository so they had the value of gold to back up the value of the currency they were issuing. the value of currency was governed by how much gold the country had stored - not their industry or financial base. In the latter parts of the 20^th Century this practice waned as economies grew and outstretched the gold that was available to back the currencies; this proved no obstacle to issuing more money however, as the link between gold and money was decoupled (Switzerland being the last country to do this in 1997).

Gold’s success stems initially from its appearance and malleability, but as society has developed it has played a far more crucial role in underpinning the development of modern society and economic development. Gold was a common reason for exploration; American might never have been discovered but for man's fascination with this precious metal.

Gold needs no introduction – it is one of the most sought-after, precious metals on the planet and widely used in jewelry and adornments as well as in industry; you can even drink the stuff at your local bar in over-priced shots such as Goldschlagger, but there are some uses for gold you may not suspect and, may even be more than a little surprised at.

Here, then, is our list for some of the oddest uses for gold.

Nanobots – Micro Technology for Killing Cancer Tumors

Researchers at MIT have developed a medicinal use for gold which is at eth cutting edge of cancer treatment; using “nanorods” made of gold, they are able to target cancer tumors very precisely. Once in situ, the gold nanorods, measuring only a few microns (microscopic), they are able to locate and congregate around cancerous tissue which highlights the tumor growth and spread in the body. Even better, the nanorods are then capable of destroying the cancerous tissue by responding to Infra-Red light which is beamed onto them and creating heat to kill off the cancer.

Unlike chemotherapy, these nanorods require only sufficient medication to locate and kill the tumor so they are not related to the highly adverse side effects associated with radiation therapies for cancer.

Gold the Executioner

In 1599, the Spanish Governor of Ecuador was the subject of a tax rebellion by the natives who grew sick of losing their hard earned gold profits to the money grabbing taxation of the intransigent ruler. His greed won him the rare punishment of having molten gold poured down his throat until his intestines burst.

I hate to think of who went in to get the gold back – not so much an autopsy as a goldtopsy.

This form of execution was not unique to the luckless Governor of Ecuador; there are other examples throughout history including the infamous Spanish Inquisition but lead used to be used rather than gold (unless you were filthy rich to begin with and could pay the difference).

The Golden Gun Sex Toy

A Saudi businessman paid over $55,000 for a sex toy made from gold and encrusted with diamonds (at least that’s all it was encrusted with to begin with). The Saudi millionaire claimed he had an allergic reaction to the stainless-steel version of the penis enlarger, so the Canadian manufacturer made a custom version for the customer and enlisted the help of a jeweler to perform the diamond settings.

Pain Relief Using Gold Salts

We’re ending as we started with a medical use of gold; in the 1900’s it was found that injecting gold salt solutions into patients with rheumatoid arthritis eased their suffering and actually provided remission from the extremely painful condition. The practice is maintained today but has always been restricted because of the high cost associated with the treatment and in modern medicine it is used as the treatment of last resort. Other, less effective treatments are administered first, not because of the cost issue but because gold accumulates in the kidneys and liver causing damage to them.