1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,120 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,639 Speaker 1: there's Chuck. And let's take it back to Christmas Eve. 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: The year's eighteen hundred, and I'm an English scientist named 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: William Hyde Wallaston. Who are you, Chuck? 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 2: I guess that would make me your colleague Smithson Tenant. 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: Neil Tennant's great great great great grandfather. 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 2: I don't believe you have not falling for anything anymore. 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: Okay, so what are we doing on this Christmas Eve 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: eighteen hundred. 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 2: Well, we're coming. We're unwrapping a very special thing, a 11 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 2: precious metal platinum or that's right. We paid got to 12 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 2: stop that. 13 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,319 Speaker 1: We paid a pretty penny for it too. It came 14 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: from what we would call Columbia today, what Wallaston and 15 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: Tenant us called Nueva Granada, which is fancy. But they 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: paid something like seven hundred and ninety five pounds for it, 17 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: which in eighteen hundred that'd be one thousand dollars and 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: today it'd be like twenty three thousand dollars. I would 19 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: have thought inflation would have made that way more, but still, 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: that's a decent amount of money to pay for a 21 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: hunk of platinum. Even back then, the reason why they 22 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: paid so much for it and why they had to 23 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: smuggle it out is because it was essentially pure platinum, 24 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: which is very, very hard to find. And one of 25 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: the reasons that Wallaston wanted it was because he was 26 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: trying to figure out how to create a chemical reaction 27 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: that could make platinum malleable and therefore even more useful 28 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: than it already was. 29 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 2: That's right. He's like, I think I can do it. 30 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 2: I'm pretty smart, and I think we can get a 31 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 2: lot of uses out of valuable platinum. And so he 32 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 2: worked on it for a few years, or rather you 33 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 2: worked on it for a few years. 34 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: And you helped. 35 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 2: I helped a little bit. I got your tea and 36 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 2: stuff like that, latch at your jokes, kind of like 37 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 2: this podcast, Oh here's your tea, by the ways. And 38 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 2: he eventually would or you eventually would get that chemical 39 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 2: process down pat and isolate that platinum, and it was 40 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 2: in fact malleable. But what he noticed was was like, 41 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 2: wait a minute, there's something left over here, these reddish salts, 42 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 2: and like, what in the world could this be? And 43 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 2: it turns out that Wallaston, Wallaston and Tenet had also 44 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 2: discovered not just one other precious metal. But two we're 45 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,519 Speaker 2: going to focus on rhodium, but they also discovered palladium. 46 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty neat stuff. 47 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 2: That's a big bang for your buck. 48 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: And the reason they called it rodium it was after 49 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: the Greek word for rose, which is rodin, right, which 50 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: sounds like kind of like a robot that assembles from 51 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: different parts and fights. 52 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: I was gonna say the same thing. 53 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: So, and the reason why is because those salts are 54 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: kind of like a reddish rose color. Oh that's pretty cool. 55 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: That's a great name right off of the bat. But 56 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: even more than that, they figured out that roodium and 57 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,119 Speaker 1: palladium were related to platinum. They're part of what's called 58 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: the platinum group metals. I don't know if that's a 59 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: band or not. 60 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 2: I was waiting for it, maybe like. 61 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: A prog rock like an all star prog rock band. 62 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: Yeah that's not metal, No, not at all. Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, 63 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 1: it's one of the noble metals. 64 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 2: It is. The roodium has a chemical it's a chemical 65 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 2: element with the symbol r H atomic number forty five, 66 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 2: and it is in the group with iridium and ruthenium 67 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 2: and platinum pladium. 68 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: What else don't iridium and osmium. Yeah, so it's a. 69 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 2: Pretty big deal that they found this, and also obviously 70 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 2: gold and silver also precious metals, and it turns out 71 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: that rhodium is super valuable today and very useful today. 72 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, one of them be rare. It is rare. It's 73 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: incredibly rare. Actually, it's I guess almost never found or 74 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: never found in pure form. It's found in alloys with 75 00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: other stuff, and it's usually found in just minuscule So 76 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: it's rare. It's scarce, and it's it was until very 77 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: recently in really high demand, so much so that the 78 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: price of an ounce of rhodium in April of twenty 79 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: twenty one was approaching thirty thousand dollars in ounce. 80 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, that was the peak, that rodium peak. 81 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: That's one of the most expensive like commodities on the planet, 82 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: if not the most expensive. I'm not sure. What's interesting, Chuck, though, 83 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: is that it's now down to about four thousand dollars 84 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: an ounce. And I say, we don't tell anybody why 85 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: until we come back from a message break. 86 00:04:42,040 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 2: Sounds good, all right, So we left quite a cliffhanger. 87 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 2: Rodium peaked at about close to thirty thousand dollars not 88 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,359 Speaker 2: too long ago, and just march in April of twenty 89 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 2: twenty one. Now it's abound down to about four grand 90 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 2: I saw like thirty nine today forty two hundred yesterday 91 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 2: in that area, and the forecast is for it to 92 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 2: be about the same, which is still one of the 93 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 2: most valuable medals. 94 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: In the world, more than gold for sure. 95 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's like still twice as much as gold, 96 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 2: so it's still very, very valuable. But like anything, it's 97 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 2: all about supply and demand. And while the supply is 98 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 2: still low because it's still rare, it's not like they 99 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 2: found some huge supply of it somewhere. The demand has 100 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 2: gone way down for a lot of reasons that are 101 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 2: pretty boring. If you're someone who talks about things like 102 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 2: financial instruments, then you might really enjoy hearing about like 103 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,920 Speaker 2: the twelve reasons that I found that it's not a demand. 104 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 2: But one of the big reasons that everyone can understand 105 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 2: is that rodium is one of the biggest uses is 106 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 2: that it's used in catalytic converters, which is one reason 107 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 2: why catalytic converters are stolen because they contain palladium, platinum, 108 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 2: and rodium, and people can cut them off very easily 109 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 2: and sell them for a lot of money. But catalytic 110 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 2: converters are on the decline because of the rise of 111 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 2: electric vehicles, so thus rodium the demand is down. 112 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: Isn't that interesting? Like just the price of rodium indicates 113 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: that the world turned a corner and it's like, yeap, 114 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: electric vehicles are here to stay and we don't really 115 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: need catalytic converters like we used to. 116 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, it'll go back up though, because the other eleven 117 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 2: reasons are much more volatile and not as locked in. 118 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,479 Speaker 1: Okay, but still it's just not in demand. I think 119 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: something like eighty percent of the use or the demand 120 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: for rodium was with the automotive industry, largely for catalytic converters. 121 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: The reason why they use it for catalytic converts because 122 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: it is just aces at converting nitrous oxide emissions. Yeah, 123 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: which it's crazy there, well, some that comes out of 124 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: your tailpipe, but nothing like it would without a catalytic converter. 125 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: Like we would not be breathing basically right now with 126 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: all the cars on the road if there weren't catalytic 127 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: converters featuring rodium. And the solution to that is not 128 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: more rodium, it's fewer catalytic converters. 129 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 2: Turns out. Yeah, I wrote the catalytic converter article years 130 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 2: ago at how stuff works. 131 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: How was it? 132 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 2: It was a slog my friend, Yeah, as someone you know, 133 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 2: I think for both of us were not super car 134 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 2: guys so or at least how cars work, so it 135 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 2: was tough. 136 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: Well, can you take ten minutes and explain how they 137 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: work real quick? 138 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 2: I have no memory of it, but what I do 139 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 2: remember is you said eighty percent as far as their 140 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 2: use in catalytic converters, also, eighty percent. That's how much 141 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 2: rodium South Africa is putting out, about eighty percent of 142 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 2: the world supplies coming from South Africa. Russia is number 143 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 2: two on that list, Zimbabwe is number three, and there's 144 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 2: also a and again, these aren't rhodium mines. I think 145 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 2: they're generally platinum mines for the most part, right, but 146 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 2: there's a platinum mine in Montana that is producing some 147 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 2: rodium as well. 148 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: Pretty neat, not bad. One of the cool things about 149 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: rodium is that it's super shiny. It's got a beautiful, 150 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: silvery white sheen to it, so it makes it very alluring, 151 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: like momo. Yeah, exactly. It has like a lot of attractiveness. 152 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: It also is very hard, which is a double edged 153 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: sword for jewelers. It makes it really hard to make 154 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: jewelry out of. But if you can figure out how 155 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: to plate rodium onto other kinds of jewelry, it will 156 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: make it super shiny and super hard and durable. And 157 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: that's one way that they have figured out how to 158 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: use rhodium is they plate it. And to plate it 159 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 1: you actually have to dissolve it in certain kinds of acids, 160 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: and that causes fumes, and you do not want to 161 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: breathe those fumes. But if you can successfully avoid breathing 162 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: the fumes, you can plate jewelry with roodium and you'll 163 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: be pretty happy with the result afterwards. I hear. 164 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, it is actually one of the least toxic of 165 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: those precious metals, but it is that the fumes that 166 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 2: are harmful for sure, So they have found ways to 167 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 2: work on it as jewelers to avoid those fumes. Another 168 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 2: great part about rhodium on jewelry is that it's hyper hypoallergenic, 169 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 2: so you're not you know, sometimes if you wear bracelets 170 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 2: and rings and things that will turn your skin a 171 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 2: different color. This avoids that that plating of rodium will 172 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 2: not turn your skin different colors, so that's another big plus. 173 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:53,199 Speaker 2: And it's also because it's hard. It's very scratch resistant, 174 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 2: it's corrosion resistant. It's pretty hardy. But they have to 175 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 2: do it in such a then layers it will wear down. 176 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 2: So they say if you do have a rodium plated 177 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 2: piece of jewelry or something, they say that you should 178 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 2: probably not do it on like a ring. You should 179 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 2: probably do it for like ear rings or a necklace 180 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 2: or something that doesn't get rubbed around a lot in 181 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 2: your skin. And you might want to think about getting 182 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 2: it replated every few years. And it sounds like, oh 183 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 2: my gosh, it's the most expensive thing in the world. 184 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 2: Why would I do that. They need so little of 185 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 2: it to plate your jewelry that apparently isn't that much money. No, 186 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 2: I'm sure that's relative, but it's not like you would 187 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 2: think like, oh, it costs like ten grand to get 188 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 2: this thing replated. 189 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: Right, because you don't need an ounce of this stuff. 190 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 2: No, you don't need a little tiny bit. 191 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 1: And that's all it takes. All it takes one other 192 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: use for it that I think we should end on. 193 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: Not only does it catalyze nitrous oxide into less harmful stuff, 194 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: it is the catalyst for the reaction that produces menthol. Yeah, 195 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: so if you like chewing gum or you can thank 196 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: roodium for that. 197 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 2: Aren't they getting rid of mental cigarettes? 198 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:07,319 Speaker 1: They should? 199 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 2: I thought I just saw something about that recently. 200 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: I don't know, but I could. I could definitely see 201 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: us reaching that point. 202 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 2: Finally, I'm not sure why I would have dreamed that up, 203 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 2: even though I had the weirdest dream ever last night, 204 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 2: so you never know, but I thought I saw something. 205 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 2: So anyway, I'm sure we'll figure that out. 206 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: You're not going to share last night's stream. 207 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 2: Oh no, no, no no, but it involved Michael Douglas 208 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 2: and Catherine Zada Jones. 209 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 1: Awesome. So if you want to know more about this 210 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: wonderful topic, Rodium, you can go on to how Stuff Works, 211 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,679 Speaker 1: because that's where we got this article, and that means 212 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: short stuff is out. 213 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 2: Stuff you should know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 214 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 2: more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 215 00:11:54,480 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.