Many people in the world are fond of the different type of jewellery. Some love to wear the gold jewellery while some other have a craze of collecting different types of diamond jewellery. In India, most of the population is crazy about the gold jewellery. Indians buy gold for every special occasion. The gold jewellery is specially bought for the Indian weddings. Even if the bride does not want to buy the gold ring, there would be some or the other relative who would gift her one.
You go to a jewellery shop, choose a gold ornament, ask the jewellers about the weight and pricing, and lastly if you are satisfied with every aspect you purchase it. Well, let us inform you that we have few amazing gold facts that not even your favourite gold brands know.
Curious? If yes, read until the end; we promise that there might at least be one fact that amazes you. Let us have a look.
Table of Contents
Almost all the gold on earth came from outer space
The gold that almost 80% of the people on Earth love to wear was not originally found on the planet itself. 4 billion years ago, ‘Meteorites’ crashed on the earth which brought all the gold that we have on the planet along with it. The entire gold that is found on our planet would come up to 12 ft., covering the entire surface of the earth.
The Olympic gold medal isn’t all golden
Shocking right? But, it is true. In 1912, the Olympic committee stopped making 24 Karat Gold medals. The quite obvious reason behind ceasing the process was that it was too cost-intensive to continue. After the year 1912, the Olympic gold medals are only covered with 6 grams of Gold.
Gold as a killing weapon
Today, who on Earth would think that Gold could be used to kill someone? Nobody! But, in India, there was a time when India’s cultural took on gold as a symbol of life-enriching prosperity is the use of gold as a killing tool. During the time of Roman Empire and the Spanish Inquisition, execution by pouring molten gold down someone’s throat was been recorded. A Spanish governor in ‘Ecuador’ met his death this way in 1599. He was killed in such a way because his taxation rules irritated the Jivaro tribe.
There’s a gold-vending machine in Abu Dhabi
You might have many times heard over the past decade or so, that the certain parts of the middle-east are determined in redefining luxury while certain other parts are hell. One of such example was noticed in 2010 when the world’s first gold vending machine was revealed. The vending machine is covered in 24 karat gold and is in a super-luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Scientists estimate that 80% of the world’s gold remains undiscovered
It is noticed that the 75% of the entire gold used in the world today came from the exaction since 1910. That means there a lot amount of gold that is yet to be discovered by the scientists.
India once was the top gold consumer in the world
As Gold is the symbol of prosperity in India, this is not surprising at all. In 2014, the annual consumption and investment in gold for India came to 842.7 tonnes. Now, China is the top most consumer of Gold in the world. Also, it is said that the Gold jewellery of South-Asia is more pure (24 karats) than that of the Western world (14 karats).
All the gold we have mined will only fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools
For the people who are unaware, The Olympic-sized swimming pool is the type of swimming pool used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is 50 meters (164.0 ft) in length. And 3 pools like this one is a huge quantity and that is the amount of Gold we have in the world.
Medieval Europeans had one of the most curious “uses” of gold
The Bubonic plague was one of the most horrible diseases that Europe ever faced. Not only it killed a huge number of people but, it was also a painful disease. As the incident took before the age of modern medicine, one theory that gained a lot of attraction was that drinking molten gold mixed with crushed emerald would cure the Bubonic plague.
Golden threads were sometimes used in garments
An ounce of gold can make an 80 km long thread. Due to the gold’s conducting properties, it also finds applications in industries. The golden threads were used in Medieval tapestries the robes of Chinese courtiers.
Gold is used to make astronaut’s helmets
Never thought of that? Well, that’s true. An astronaut’s helmet is tinted with Gold in order to reflect harmful infrared rays while at the same time allowing sunlight in. Doing so also helps to keep the inside atmosphere of the helmet cool.
Gold can be used to treat arthritis
During the early twentieth century, the medical study conducted in France found that injecting ionic chemical compounds of gold can be useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis. The reason for this fact being unknown is that the option works only in some patients and can have long-term side effects. As well as, it was an expensive treatment to perform.
Completely pure gold can be molded with your hands
Yes! That is true, the pure gold is really soft and can be easily molded with your hands. But, it is also true that we would never get to play with the pure gold as we did in childhood with the polymer modeling clay.
These are few unknown facts that we know, if you have any such interesting jewellery facts do lets us know in the comment section below.