1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from house Stuff Works dot com, 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: where smart happens. This podcast is brought to you by 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: Audible dot com, the Internet's leading provider of spoken word entertainment. 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Get a free audio book download of your choice when 5 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: you sign up today. Log on to audible podcast dot 6 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: com slash brain Stuff Today for details. Hi, Am Marshall 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: brain with today's question. If you took all of the 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: gold in the world and put it in one place, 9 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: how much would there be? It's amazing, but the total 10 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: amount of gold in the world is a surprisingly small quantity. 11 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: Here's how you can calculate the total amount that's available. 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: If you look it up, you'll find that the annual 13 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: worldwide production of gold is something like fifty million troy 14 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: ounces per year. Gold as a specific gravity of nineteen 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: point three, meaning that it's nineteen point three times heavier 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: than water, So goldways nineteen point three kilograms per leader. 17 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: A leader is a cube that measures ten centimeters about 18 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,400 Speaker 1: four inches on a side. There are thirty two point 19 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: one five troy ounces in a kilogram. Therefore, the world 20 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: produces a cube of gold that's about four point three 21 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: meters or about fourteen feet on each side every year. 22 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: In other words, all of the gold produced worldwide in 23 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: one year could just about fit in the average person's 24 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: living room. This cube weighs one million, five hundred thousand kilograms, 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: or about three million pounds. It would be worth about 26 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: thirty to forty billion dollars at today's prices. Figuring out 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: the total amount of gold that's been produced by man 28 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: in all of eternity is a little harder to get 29 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: it some kind of estimate. Let's figure that the world 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: has been producing gold at fifty million troy ounces a 31 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 1: year for two hundred years. That number is probably a 32 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: all high, but when you figure that the Aztecs and 33 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: the Egyptians produced a fair amount of gold for a 34 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: long time, it's probably not too far off. Fifty million 35 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: ounces times two hundred years equals ten billion ounces. Ten 36 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 1: billion ounces of gold would fit into a cube roughly 37 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: twenty five meters or about eighty two feet on a side. 38 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: Consider that the Washington Monument measures fifty five by fifty 39 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: five ft at the base and is five hundred fifty 40 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: five ft tall. That means that if you could somehow 41 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: gather every scrap of gold that man is ever mined 42 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: into one place, you could only build about one third 43 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,399 Speaker 1: of the Washington Monument with it. Platinum is even more 44 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: scarce than gold. Only three point six million troy ounces 45 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: are produced every year. It's specific gravity is twenty one 46 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: point four five and it was discovered in the eighteenth century, 47 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: not in three thousand BC. If you assume that the 48 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: world has produced three point six million ounces per year 49 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: for fifty years to estimate the total worldwide supply, all 50 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: of the platinum in the world would fit into a 51 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: cube about twenty meters on the side. In other words, 52 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: all the platinum in the entire world would easily fit 53 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: inside the average house. Do you have any ideas or 54 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me an 55 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: email at podcast at how stuff works dot com. For 56 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics, go to 57 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com.