Five little known facts about gold

Gold has always been a fascinating subject. For centuries it has been sought after as treasure, and later as a luxury. People write songs about it and build adventure stories around it. And, today, it is quite possibly the only safe bet when it comes to any kind of major investment. However, there is a lot that people don’t know about gold. In this article, we will take a look at some aspects of gold that are quite fascinating, if not common knowledge.

1. Our first fact concerns space. Every time you see a team of astronauts blasting off into space take a moment to consider what their helmets contain. More specifically, it’s all about the visors. The visors are, naturally, super tough. However, it’s what goes into each of those visors that is truly fascinating. An astronaut’s visor contains within it a coating of real gold that is incredibly thin. This coating measures just 0.00005 millimeters. It is so thin that it is technically transparent. However, it provides more than enough protection from the rays of the sun. Quite handy when you’re out in space.

2. Gold has always had a special mystery about it, with respect to the substance having been traditional for thousands of years. However, one particular culture, while it may have respected gold, didn’t quite name it in the most respectful way. The Aztec culture – which had its fair share of gold – called it teocuitlatl, which means, literally, ‘excrement of the gods’. Not the most flattering of names, and not something you would expect. Although, when you think about it, it kind of makes sense.

3. Now for a little more concerning the history and lore surrounding gold.  If you ever have the opportunity to get your hands on a genuine gold nugget, grab it. Gold nuggets are extremely rare, so rare that they make up just 2% of all the mined gold in the world. So if you ever manage to get near one, and if you can afford it, take it. Why are they so rare? Well, they are literally solid lumps of gold.

4. It is always fascinating to know just how gold is used. Obviously, the biggest use for gold is in jewellery making. On an annual basis, 78% of the supply of gold is used for making jewellery. Around 12% of that annual supply is used by industries that need gold for parts, like electronics for example. The rest of the gold, around 10%, is used in commerce.

5. And, finally, the biggest piece of gold ever found? That would be ‘The Welcome Stranger’. This beauty weighed in at an impressive 78 kilograms. It was discovered in Australia in 1869. After the melting down process, the nugget was found to weigh 71 kilograms. Just ponder that for a second the next time you look at a piece of gold jewelry and remember how much that cost.

So there are a few fun facts about gold. We are sure that at least one of them would have surprised you. Hopefully, the next time you see a piece of gold, you will be a little more aware of just how fascinating the stuff is.

For more facts and to find out the latest gold price per gram please stop by at 247 Cash For Gold.