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Gold is well-known for its allure and financial worth, but is there more to this metal than we realize? Is it truly as dull as it seems, or is there a deeper mystery behind its shimmer?
Gold has been used in some truly peculiar ways throughout history, and even modern findings offer unexpected revelations. From a Renaissance alchemist who perished covered in gold dust to a hidden fortune in the sewers, here are ten astonishing gold facts.
10. Fool’s Gold Actually Contains Real Gold
The mineral pyrite, often called 'fool’s gold' due to its resemblance to real gold, was long believed to be entirely without value. For centuries, people dismissed it as worthless, not realizing it contained actual gold.
In the 1980s, researchers uncovered that pyrite holds two kinds of real gold, meaning countless miners may have overlooked a hidden treasure. The gold appears as either pure particles or as a mixture of gold and pyrite. A third form was found in 2021, and it’s rather peculiar. When pyrite forms under extreme pressure or heat, its crystal structure can develop defects filled with gold atoms.
The gold in pyrite is so minuscule that it can't be detected with regular microscopes. However, because of the vast quantities of fool’s gold, this resource could potentially become a major asset to the gold industry once more efficient extraction techniques are developed.
9. A Massive Bar of Stolen Gold
In 1981, workers digging on a construction site in Mexico City stumbled upon a large gold bar. The artifact, which appeared old and worn, weighed about 4.25 pounds (1.93 kg). Its size and weathered look suggested that it might be an Aztec treasure, looted and melted down by Spanish conquistadors.
On the night of June 30, 1520, the Spanish discovered an Aztec revolt was on the horizon, so they seized as much gold as they could from Tenochtitlán (present-day Mexico City) and fled. However, one of their ships sank, and much of the treasure was lost. The discovery of the bar in the dried-up canal where the ship sank lent credence to the idea that it had been aboard the doomed vessel.
It wasn’t until 2022 that researchers were able to confirm this discovery. Tests revealed the bar’s chemical makeup to be about 76% gold, 21% silver, and 3% copper, matching the signature composition of other gold artifacts found at the main temple in Tenochtitlán.
8. Rare Golden Dental Braces
Anne d’Alègre, a French aristocrat from the 17th century, experienced a life filled with hardship. Despite her high social status, she lost two husbands and an adult son. As a Protestant, she was forced to hide from Catholic forces that seized her property. She passed away in 1619 at the age of 54.
When archaeologists uncovered her coffin in 1988, they discovered wires attached to her teeth. However, it wasn’t until x-rays were taken in 2022 that it was revealed the wires were made of gold. The scans also showed that she had severe periodontal disease, possibly due to the stresses in her life. To prevent her teeth from falling out—a situation unthinkable for someone of her high status—she had her teeth bound with gold wires.
The dental work was ahead of its time, though not without flaws. The braces required occasional tightening, and some teeth had to be drilled to allow the wires to pass through. This procedure likely destabilized her healthy teeth and caused her ongoing, excruciating pain.
7. Ant Nests Lead to Hidden Treasures
Australia's economy is deeply reliant on its mineral resources, with gold and other minerals contributing a whopping $86 billion to the country’s annual revenue. However, there’s a major challenge: all of Australia’s surface mineral deposits have already been discovered. To find more, miners must dig deeper, but traditional methods like drilling are expensive and often ineffective.
A peculiar solution might just do the trick. A 2012 research paper uncovered how scientists discovered significant amounts of gold within ant and termite mounds in Western Australia’s goldfields. The insects dig deep beneath their nests, collecting pieces of gold and bringing them back to their colonies.
By identifying these nests filled with gold, miners can pinpoint larger mineral deposits buried deep underground. This method is not only more cost-effective but also more eco-friendly than traditional gold mining, which often involves random, haphazard digging.
6. Gold Enhances the Aroma of Wine
The wine industry faces a significant problem. Certain winemaking processes result in aromas so unpleasant they’ve been compared to 'rubber' or 'rotten eggs.' This is a major issue, as few customers are willing to purchase wine that smells like a tire. While copper sulfate is often added to combat the odor, this solution is far from ideal since the compound is toxic.
Recently, scientists in Australia discovered a better way to eliminate these foul smells. They coated special strips with tiny particles of gold and tested them on wines containing high levels of volatile sulfur compounds (the source of the bad odors). Astonishingly, when the strips were immersed in the wine for 24 hours, they removed up to 45% of the sulfur compounds.
This golden filtration technique is not only fast, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly, but it can also be applied throughout the winemaking process. Equipment and packaging can be coated with gold nanoparticles, potentially removing even more sulfur from the wine.
5. This Bacteria Poops Gold
Meet Cupriavidus metallidurans, a bacterium that consumes toxic metallic compounds and excretes small nuggets of gold. This remarkable ability was discovered in 2009, but scientists couldn’t explain how the microbes managed this feat without dying. In 2018, after further study by an international team of researchers, the secret was finally revealed.
These bacteria thrive in soil that would be lethal to most other organisms, particularly in environments saturated with toxic metals and hydrogen. Among these dangerous substances are gold and copper, which rapidly enter the bacteria’s bodies, potentially causing severe harm.
However, C. metallidurans possess a clever defense mechanism. They produce a unique enzyme called CopA, which mitigates the harmful effects of metals on their cells. CopA makes gold and copper harder to absorb, ensuring fewer metals infiltrate the bacteria’s internal systems. Additionally, this enzyme helps them expel any metals they do absorb, leading to tiny gold nuggets forming on their outer surfaces.
4. Sewage: A Hidden Gold Mine
No one likes to think about sewage, but some scientists are fascinated by it. Why? Because sewage sludge is worth millions.
Sewage sludge, which remains after treating storm run-off, toilet waste, and industrial effluents, has long been known to contain metals. This makes almost half of it unsuitable as fertilizer and unsafe to release into rivers.
In their quest for a solution, researchers closely examined the waste and found it was filled with precious metals. A city with a million residents could have sludge worth anywhere from $8 million to $13 million. Samples from various locations across the U.S. revealed that, in addition to millions of dollars worth of gold, the sludge also contained valuable metals such as silver, titanium, copper, palladium, cadmium, manganese, and more.
But what explains why sewage drains are filled with treasure fit for a dragon’s hoard? It’s not because people are ingesting these metals and excreting them. Instead, the metals end up in the sewage systems due to industrial processes and waste disposal, primarily from mining, electronics, jewelry-making, and automotive industries.
3. This Alchemist Died Full of Gold
Tycho Brahe, born in 1546, became famous for his eccentricities. He had a pet moose and a prosthetic nose after losing his original one in a duel. Extremely wealthy, Brahe owned 1% of Denmark, his homeland. By age 30, he was traveling across Europe as a highly respected astronomer and alchemist.
In 2016, an analysis of Brahe’s hair revealed that he had 20 to 100 times more gold in his system than people do today. The study suggested he had been exposed to an excessive amount of gold, especially in the final two months of his life. As an alchemist, gold would have been central to his experiments, and being wealthy, Brahe could easily purchase it. But how did it accumulate in his body?
Gold was plentiful in the elite circles Tycho Brahe frequented. He could have ingested it whenever his cutlery scraped against the gold accents on his plates, or when gold was deliberately added to his food or wine, a common practice in Renaissance Europe. It’s also possible that he consumed gold during alchemical rituals. However, the exact cause of how Brahe ended up full of gold remains a mystery.
2. Plastic Gold That’s Real Gold
Gold has long been admired for its beauty and status. It’s commonly used to make rings, necklaces, wristwatches, and more. Despite its lasting popularity, there’s one issue with gold jewelry—it’s heavy.
A groundbreaking team of scientists might have found a solution. In 2020, they developed a version of gold with the characteristics of plastic, without losing its 18-carat quality. This was achieved by combining gold with plastic in a complex hybrid material. The result is a substance that’s five to ten times lighter than traditional gold, sounds like plastic when dropped, shines just as gold does, and is flexible enough to be molded into various forms.
This “plastic gold” isn’t just great for more comfortable jewelry and watches; it also shows potential in other fields such as electronics, chemical catalysis, and radiation shielding.
1. Jason’s Myth Was Based on Real Events
In Greek mythology, Jason’s task was to retrieve the fabled Golden Fleece from the Kingdom of Colchis. Scholars suggest that this myth may be rooted in a real journey that occurred between 3,300 and 3,500 years ago. The travelers on this voyage are believed to have visited villages in the Svaneti region of Georgia, near the Black Sea, which is thought to be where the Colchis Kingdom once stood. It was here that they encountered a local tradition that would later inspire the myth of Jason.
The mountains surrounding these villages contained gold deposits. However, the locals didn’t need to mine the gold by digging into the earth. Instead, they took advantage of erosion, which washed the gold into nearby rivers. By lowering sheepskins into the water, the villagers could use them as filters, collecting the golden flakes that floated downstream. This method of collecting gold likely played a role in the creation of the Golden Fleece legend.
Remarkably, this ancient method of gold collection hasn’t disappeared. Thousands of years later, people in this region continue to use sheepskin to gather gold from the streams.
