1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Hi, everybody, this is Charles W. Chuck Bryant here to 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: talk about currency, specifically the September eight, two fourteen Stuff 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 1: You Should Know episode How Currency Works. I think this 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: one was really cool because it's not just money, all 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 1: kinds of currency everybody. So that's why this is my pick. 6 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: I hope you check it out and hope you enjoy 7 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: it all over again. Welcome to Stuff you Should Know, 8 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: a production of My Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, 9 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,239 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark with Charles W. 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant, and Jerry all Right. Yeah, that makes the 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know. Have you ever had one of those? Uh? 12 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: I don't know why I wanted one, but when I 13 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: was a kid, I wanted one of those coin things 14 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: you wanted your hip to make change. I wanted one 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: of those worst than anything, really. Yeah, I don't think 16 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: like a peanut vendor. I don't know when I said 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: when I was at six Flags what everyone I saw 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: those things? I just thought it was boss. That's really funny. 19 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: And I don't think I knew that you could buy 20 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: them for like three bucks or else. I would have 21 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: a bunch of them. Yeah, because there's not much to them. 22 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: It's just like the thing's not counting anything when you 23 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: press it with your thumbs. Releases. But each one, you know, 24 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: your quarters, they have different sizes, so you know, you 25 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: can just without even looking, you could go, here's three quarters, buddy. 26 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: I know what somebody's getting for Christmas this year. I 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,119 Speaker 1: just thought of that out of nowhere. I haven't remember 28 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: that since I was a kid. I was obsessed with 29 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: those things for a little while. Well, you know what, 30 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: you were technically obsessed with a dispenser of currency? How's 31 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: that ted that one up? Yeah? Yeah, knocked it out 32 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: of the part. I collected banks too, which is a 33 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: weird thing for a kid to do. Banks like piggy banks. Yeah, 34 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: even then, none of them were piggybanks. Well what was 35 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: your favorite one? Oh man? I still have the collection. 36 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: My mom's got them. Um. I wonder if they're worth 37 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: any money, and I doubt it. I mean it was 38 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: like a Garfield Bank and uh and uh Opus the 39 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: penguin Eric Davis? Now was it Opus from bloom County? How? 40 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: Why am I blanking out on that? That was my 41 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 1: favorite comic? I don't know that sounds right, man, I'm 42 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: losing it, buddy, So the penguin from Bloom County, we're 43 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: going with that. I was obsessed with Bloom County and 44 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: then Change Counters nice and Biggiebanks cool. That was my childhood. 45 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: And Dale Murphy not Eric Davis. Now, who's that? Who's 46 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: for the Reds? Oh? The Reds player? Yeah? He was 47 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,359 Speaker 1: great though, I love it he as a non Reds fan. 48 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: I was an Eric Davis fan. I'm with you. Where 49 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: are you obsessed with? I liked baseball, baseball cards? Did 50 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: you claim anything? Mad magazines? Yeah? Me too. Those are 51 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: still I think at my dad's house. They'd better be. 52 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: You still got him? Uh? What else did I collect? 53 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: I saved up my Sports Illustrated for years too. Um. 54 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: And remember the first one I ever got had Muhammad 55 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: Ali on the cover. That's all I am. Wow. It 56 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: was during his comeback and when he was like fat 57 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,080 Speaker 1: and mustachioed. Don't call it a comeback. It was not 58 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: not much one. That's not how that goes? Uh? How's 59 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: that first side track? To get us going? I haven't 60 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: even done the intro. Let's hear it? So the intro 61 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: is as follows Chuck in two New York Magazine, not 62 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: the New York Times, not New Yorker, New York Magazine, 63 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: which is an equally good publication in that time out 64 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: in New York. Not the Village Voice, all right, just 65 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: New York Magazine, um which is actually where the movie 66 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: Saturday Night Fever came from. It came from an article 67 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: that was later admitted to be completely fabricated by the author. Yeah, 68 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: in that magazine. Awesome. Anyway, New York Magazine ran a 69 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: really interesting article in January called um or January called 70 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: SuDS for Drugs, and it talked about how there's a 71 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: huge black market for tide laundry detergent, specifically liquid tide 72 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: in the United States. Yeah, they did not make it anymore. No, 73 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: they make plenty of it, but tons of it gets stolen. 74 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: And the reason why is tied is such an agreed 75 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: upon great laundry detergent that tied and only tied. Like 76 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: if you try to use gain or um all or 77 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: anything like that, you would get turned away. But if 78 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: you have a jug of tied liquid laundry detergent, you 79 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: can buy drugs in the United States with it. It 80 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,799 Speaker 1: is agreed upon as a currency. I had no idea 81 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: even though you can just buy it in the store. Yeah, 82 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: let's see. That's the part I don't get, because if 83 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: you're a crackhead and you steal a carton of them, 84 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: then all of a sudden, you didn't have to pay 85 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: for this tide and you can use it to buy drugs. Interesting, 86 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: why don't use any of that stuff? And I don't 87 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: mean to pick on just crackheads. If you're a junkie, 88 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: same thing. Sure, if you have a gambling habit, Yeah, 89 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: we've man, we got we got a lot of crap 90 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: from a cup. The people by using about using the 91 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: word junkie, Yeah, it's pretty derogatory if you think about it. 92 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: I guess, well, but it's a word with a definition 93 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: which means something, and that's what it means. I mean, 94 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: it's not like we were just like slagging people. Yeah, no, 95 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: I get what they're saying, though. You're saying like it's 96 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,919 Speaker 1: just such a dismissive term of anyone who's addicted. It 97 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: really kind of flies in the face of the disease 98 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: model of addiction. Yeah. Yeah, so I had to talk 99 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: to the people who call us out on man, I 100 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: get it. But the point is tied is now a 101 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 1: currency as like remember our prison episode we talked about 102 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: how honey buns are currency. Yeah, same thing, right, cigarettes, yeah, currency, 103 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: deer skins, Yeah, those were currency once. That's where we 104 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: get the word bucks from. I think what you're getting at. Oh, 105 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: I can't wait to get to that stuff later. Okay, etymology, 106 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: I love that stuff. Um. I think what you're trying 107 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: to say is that or what you are saying is 108 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: that currency is nothing more or than a medium of 109 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: exchange and a substitute for something a good or a service. Yeah, 110 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: it is an agreed upon that's the key. Yeah, it's 111 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: got to be agreed upon. Yeah, you can't be like 112 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: I'll give you five Lincoln logs for a car. Well 113 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: that's what you do when you're a kid, right, And 114 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: you go, I don't think I want Linkol logs, and 115 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: everybody goes, oh you do. Right. But if the other 116 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: person says those Lincoln I don't want Lincoln logs, then 117 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: what you have are Lincol logs, not a currency, because 118 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: it has to be mutually agreed upon, like you say, 119 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: like dollar bills. Yeah. I have gone off on this 120 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: on our show about the amazing fact that this paper 121 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: we have all agreed as is worth something, and that 122 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: as the only reason it's worth something that people dedicate 123 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: their lives to pursuing paper is as as ephemeral as 124 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: a cloud. Almost. Yeah, not the greatest analogy you I've made, 125 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: but it's still kind of works, all right. So let's 126 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: let's talk olden days and currency as a substitute for things. Um, 127 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: what currency did was solved the problem. It allowed you 128 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: to give change and make change. Yeah, that's a that's 129 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: a big one. Because back in the day, if you 130 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: had a bushel of corn and you wanted a chicken, 131 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: you would go to your neighbor. Well, you had to 132 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: find somebody they had a chicken that wanted corn. So 133 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 1: that's the first problem. That's a problem. But what if 134 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: you do find someone, You're like, great, my neighbor's got 135 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: a chicken and I've got this corn. He wants this corn. 136 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: He wants the corn, but he says, you know what, 137 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: this chicken is worth a lot more than that corn. 138 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: Somebody's getting a bad deal until you can make change. Yeah, 139 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: because what if corn you could that's not the best 140 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: example because you could take out some of the corn. 141 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: Let's say you can't chop a chicken. Yeah, Well, you 142 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: got a cow, your neighbor has a chicken, and it's 143 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: not an even trade. But you just need one chicken 144 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: and your neighbor just needs one cow. You can't make 145 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: change like that. You can't make change. So that's one 146 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: of the first roles that currency its fulfilled, was a 147 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: way to make change, to make trade more equal. Yeah, 148 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: and before that, I think there were a lot of 149 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: bad deals going down out of desperation. You know, like 150 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: if your family really needed that chicken for a reason, 151 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: you might end up taking a bad deal just because 152 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: you need that chicken. You give your cow away for 153 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: that chicken. Yeah, and then your family would berate you. 154 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: It's right, where's the milk, honey? Yeah, this is like 155 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: the magic beans incident all over again. Can't milk a chicken, honey? 156 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: You get berated by your wife. Another reason that currency 157 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: uh became popular is because it allowed you for the 158 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: first time to really a mass wealth. Because you can 159 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: harvest all the corn you want, but that corn is 160 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: gonna go bad unless you can find a way to 161 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 1: trade it in. A barn full of rotten corn does 162 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: no one any good. It doesn't make you any richer 163 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: like in in practice, practically speaking, you would be an 164 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: extraordinarily wealthy person if you had tons of corn. In theory, 165 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,839 Speaker 1: but like you said, it's gonna go bad, so you 166 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: could lose all all your wealth would literally rot away. 167 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: That's not the case with say a gold coin. Gold 168 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: coins aren't gonna go bad and deteriorate. So there that 169 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: stand in for those enormous stocks of corn because you 170 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: had all that corn and then you traded it for 171 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: gold coins. So what you did was you took your 172 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: wealth of corn and stored it into something of equal value, 173 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: in this case gold coins. Yeah, and that had a 174 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:44,199 Speaker 1: huge impact on civilization because the most powerful people were 175 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: not just the ones who held the political and military influence. 176 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: All of a sudden, if you could accumulate wealth, then 177 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: you could buy that junk. Yeah. It gave rise to 178 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: the merchant class. And it democratized is that the word. 179 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: It democratized the world. It did because before it was 180 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: like you were born into a wealthy, noble family, and 181 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: that's gain power. And if you weren't t yes, that 182 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: meant that you work the land for this wealthy family. 183 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: But if you can sell something and get money in 184 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: exchange for it instead of a cow for a chicken. Yeah, 185 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: you say that junk up and you buy someone to 186 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: go kill that landowner and then that's your land. Right. Democracy, 187 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: democracy work. Uh. They are generally considered to be four 188 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: categories of UM currency. You have commodity currency, coins, paper money, 189 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: and electronic currency these days, and in the commodity system, 190 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: it is a placeholder, like we said, um for purchasing power, 191 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:49,319 Speaker 1: but it is also has value as a thing because 192 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: corn is valuable. Um, it's not just a piece of paper, 193 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: where in the case of the Aztecs or little Coco, 194 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: beans were valuable and so they use those as money. 195 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: But um. One of the roblems with that is if 196 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: the person you're trading with doesn't find that valuable, then 197 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: it's worthless. Yeah. Usually within a society, everyone will find 198 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 1: that commodity currency valuable, Like the Aztecs with cocao. They 199 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: love the stuff. They made chocolate out of it. It 200 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,839 Speaker 1: was the elixir of the gods, kind of stuff. Drank 201 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: it right, Yeah. Mina Zuma drank like twenty or forty 202 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:25,320 Speaker 1: cups of it to day until he died from drinking 203 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: too much chocolate. Um. But the canky sitters who came 204 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: didn't value cocow beans at all, So rather than trade, 205 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: they just took everything yeah and dumped the cacao beans 206 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: because it was worthless to them. Yeah, but that is 207 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: a good example of a commodity based currency, like even 208 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: if even if everything else falls apart, that cocw beans 209 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 1: still has value and that you can make chocolate out 210 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,319 Speaker 1: of it. In the society, chocolate is valued ergo they 211 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: value the cacao beans, so you can use it as currency. 212 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: Plus in this case, cacaw beans um are easy to carry, 213 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: so they're portable, and they're plentiful and small, so you 214 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 1: can make change with them. Yeah, but not everything was 215 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: the cacao bean. In commodity currency, a lot of stuff 216 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: is perishable more perishable um, a lot of like cattle 217 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: is super bulky. You can't carry on a bunch of cows, goats, 218 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: goats um. But nevertheless, that is a form of commodity currency. 219 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: Has just had its downside, Like the goat has has 220 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: value in and of itself. Yeah, cute cute milk, meat 221 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: and cute hair and cute and very cute. I'm gonna 222 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: get one of those pigmy goats one of these days. 223 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: It's gonna happen. You're gonna come over to my house 224 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: and then little goat is gonna bounce in the room. 225 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: Clip clop, you're gonna go. What the have you ever 226 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: seen be the Lamb? I showed you that, right, dude, 227 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: of that's probably my top five if you don't know, 228 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: Be the Lamb where into YouTube? Now? Oh was it 229 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:03,959 Speaker 1: a lamb? I think so. I thought it was a 230 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: pigmy goat. I think it's a lamb. Jerry says, Lamb. Alright, 231 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: I win. Alright, here's some cacao beans. Nice. Okay, we're back. 232 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: Let's see if we can get the mojo back again. 233 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: All right, the mojo is still flowing because our message 234 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: break in reality, was only two seconds long. That's our 235 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: dirty secret. Coins is our next form of currency. And 236 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,680 Speaker 1: they were first minute a minute in Lydia, which is 237 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:57,599 Speaker 1: modern Turkey, and they're king uh Crosis or crotus. So 238 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 1: you know what, I'm gonna make these little small metal ingots. 239 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: I'm gonna amblem with our emblem and it's six ford 240 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,320 Speaker 1: BC and this is called coins and it's worth something. 241 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,439 Speaker 1: And the Greek said this is great, and the Romans 242 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: said this is great. And they're we're gonna make ours 243 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: out of silver and gold. So it's actually worth something. 244 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 1: Although when you think about it, that's just you know, 245 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: worth something because someone says it's worth something. Gold, sure, 246 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: all of it. Yeah, I read this Forbes article that 247 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: basically said all currency is a fiat currency. Fiat currency 248 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: means that it has valued by fiat, like um, the 249 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: fiat of the king, a decree um, and it says 250 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: the government or the king says this has value. It's 251 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 1: it's n gold, it's valuable, so go trade it as 252 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: such by fiat. Right. Yeah, if you think about the 253 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: only things that really have real value or like food 254 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 1: and water pretty much, you know, like you can make 255 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: the case that a commodity based currency like cocao beans 256 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: isn't necessarily a fiat currency because it does have inherent 257 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: value that anybody can use. But gold old is, Yeah, 258 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: it's not really that valuable. It's not really that useful, 259 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: especially in like a pre industrial society. I wonder if 260 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: gold first became valuable because it was shiny and and 261 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: it literally yes, they could make pretty things with it, honestly, yes, interesting, 262 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: I think that's exactly why. Because it's so malleable, you 263 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: can't make tools out of it. Yeah, even today it's 264 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: not that useful. I mean, they use it in some 265 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: solid state electronics and things, but it's not it's more 266 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: valuable simply because it's gold. Yeah, so even if it's 267 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: backed with gold, it's technically still a fiat currency. I've 268 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: never heard that term f I A T. So what 269 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: does the fiat car all about? Does that mean it's 270 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: just special because they say it is? All right? Um 271 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: in China, I thought the Chinese made the first coins, 272 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: but Ums says no. Yeah. Grabster says that it happened 273 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: about the same time it did in the West fifth 274 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: century BC. They started out oddly with tools like knives, 275 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: shapes as currency with little holes drilled in them so 276 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: they could keep it on a string, and they just 277 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 1: shrank over the earth until it was about the size 278 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: of a coin, right, I thought was odd, But they 279 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: kept the hole in there. So even until like the 280 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 1: mid nineteenth century, the Chinese coins still we're just these 281 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: little round coins with a hole in the middle so 282 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: you could string them on a string. Yeah, that's because 283 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: they didn't have the little coin dispenser on the hip. 284 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: They would have thought of that, which is surprising because 285 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: the Chinese invented practically everything except the coin dispenser, the 286 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: hip mounted coin dispenser. Did they even still make those? 287 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: Sure they do. I'll bet all right, I'm gonna buy one. Um. 288 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: If not, Archie McPhee probably makes it in an ironic version. 289 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,800 Speaker 1: So who's that they make? Um, you've seen all their stuff. 290 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: They make like funny like they were the original, probably 291 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: like bacon air freshener, car freshener. They make stuff like that. 292 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: They make his head, gotcha. They outfit Um, they all 293 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: their stuffs in urban outfitters, probably in the chakey section. Yes, 294 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 1: all right, I hate them. Then. Uh So, one of 295 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,879 Speaker 1: the big impacts of coins was now the government actually 296 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: controlled the money supply and could manipulate it and say 297 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,920 Speaker 1: what it's worth. And Roman emperors were dumb and said, 298 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 1: you know what, We're just gonna reduce your amount of 299 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: precious metal in some of these because that makes us richer. 300 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: But that devalued things such that it ended up being 301 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 1: one of the factors in their downfall. Yeah, they didn't 302 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: quite understand now it worked, and it took thousands of 303 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: years for anybody to figure out really how it worked. 304 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:44,679 Speaker 1: But basically if you still know how it works kind of, 305 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 1: you know, I think we have a better grasp than 306 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 1: the early Roman emperors. Yeah, that's because they would say, hey, man, 307 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 1: I've got a ton of gold, and my predecessors would 308 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: make ten thousand gold coins out of a ton, but I, 309 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: being as clever as I am, I'm going to make 310 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: twenty thousand gold coins out of this ton and double 311 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: my money. But rather than double the money, it devalued 312 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: the currency and led to the decline of the Roman Empire. 313 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: That's right, like you said, But that's how Yeah, and 314 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,159 Speaker 1: after that, um, it took a while for coins to 315 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: come back in fashion, all the way to the Renaissance 316 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: because in the Dark Ages, because of a lot of 317 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 1: that uh stuff, people didn't trust coins right, and for 318 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: good reason, because there was a someone behind it who 319 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,439 Speaker 1: could decree the percentage of gold in that coin. The 320 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: thing is is um and we'll get to this later. 321 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,720 Speaker 1: The powers that be can decree value, but ultimately it's 322 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: up to the general public, the people who are trading 323 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: in these things, to determine really how valuable they are. 324 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,199 Speaker 1: There's something called perception of value that has to do 325 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 1: with just how valuable a currency is or not we'll 326 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: talk about in a minute, but that's what happened in Rome. Uh. 327 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 1: Next up, we have paper money or is they call 328 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: it folding money here in the South, and um they 329 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: paper money was first developed by the Chinese as well, 330 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,880 Speaker 1: and they used um, like you said, a buckskin, sometimes bark, 331 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: parchment and it was a bill of payment. And leather 332 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,639 Speaker 1: was also used in Europe around eleven undred, which didn't 333 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 1: really catch on then. No, I think leather money be 334 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,639 Speaker 1: kind of cool though. Leather money, sure, if you know, 335 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 1: if you hate animals, what better way to kill more 336 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: of them? I wonder how much a cow would have 337 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: been worth then, yeah, because you while they were using 338 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: the skin for other stuff anyway, good point though. Uh. 339 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: In Sweden in six sixty one they issued paper money, 340 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: but they didn't quite understand it either and flooded the 341 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: market with it, which made it almost worthless as well. Out, Um, 342 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: I get the the I get the desire though, like, oh, 343 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: everyone says this stuff is worth something, let's just print 344 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: a ton of it exactly. Yeah. Um, So it didn't 345 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,439 Speaker 1: catch on after the Swedish experiment of the seventeenth century, 346 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: but it didn't take too much longer. It was the 347 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: eighteenth century when paper money finally did catch on, and 348 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: it was based on the practice of goldsmiths at the time, 349 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 1: where if you gave them some gold, they give you 350 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: basically an IOU say they were making something out of 351 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: the gold, or they were hanging onto the gold for you. 352 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: You had what what it amounts to a promissory note 353 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: saying you bring this I O U back to me 354 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: and I'll give you this amount of gold and return. 355 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: It was basically the first what what's called gold backed 356 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: paper currency. And once banks figured out just how that 357 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: could work in theory and in practice, anybody could start 358 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: issuing currency. Yeah, and um, money was backed by gold. 359 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,199 Speaker 1: Even right here in the US all the way up 360 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:03,120 Speaker 1: until nineteen UM every dollar had and not theory, every 361 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: dollar had gold somewhere, not just dollars. Pretty much any 362 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:09,479 Speaker 1: paper currency in the world at the time was backed 363 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: by gold, silver, some sort of precious metal that we 364 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: all agreed was valuable because it's shiny. Yeah, but there 365 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: was a stock somewhere in the world that you could 366 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:24,240 Speaker 1: trade your paper money for that value in gold. Yeah, 367 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,200 Speaker 1: you could go somewhere to the gold trader. E let's 368 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,639 Speaker 1: say here I want all this money in gold. Did 369 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: you know that's what the the Wizard of Oz is about. 370 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: It's an allegory for the gold standard. Oh man, it's 371 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: depending on who you ask, it's about ten different things. 372 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: It's an allegory, a populist allegory for the gold standards. 373 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,400 Speaker 1: I just posted an article about like ten different theories 374 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: on what the Wizard of Odds means on our Facebook page. 375 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: Mine is right and yours is right, and then everyone 376 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: else is wrong. Thank you. That's all I ever want 377 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 1: to hear from you, I know. Um. So, now we're 378 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,679 Speaker 1: on to E money, which is uh. It seems like 379 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: something super new, but it actually came about after World 380 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: War Two when UM banks started recording their information of 381 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: the day onto magnetic reels and taking it to the 382 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: Federal Reserve Bank, and all of a sudden they said, 383 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,919 Speaker 1: you know, we don't need these silly ten dollar bills 384 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: because we can just record this all electronically. And all 385 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: it took then was a wire connection and trust for 386 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,400 Speaker 1: people to trust that this really is money, even though 387 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: I'm not seeing any money right right then. That is 388 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: the real distinction of it, because with an electronic transfer, 389 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 1: originally you're transferring information about money, like I will I 390 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: have a hundred thousand dollars over here I officially give 391 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: to you, and so that that electronic transfer becomes a 392 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: promissory note in and of itself. Um. And they figured 393 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,679 Speaker 1: out that they can do this after they realized that 394 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: money in and of its self isn't valuable, so we 395 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: can just do this whole thing electronically. And like you said, 396 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 1: they did have hundred thousand dollar notes and apparently there's 397 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,360 Speaker 1: some in circulation still, there's a couple hundred of them 398 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: in circulation. They had five hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, 399 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:18,200 Speaker 1: and hundred thousand dollar bills. There's a really neat mental 400 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,679 Speaker 1: floss article that you can read called a hundred thousand 401 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: dollar Bill, The Story behind large denomination currency, and it 402 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,719 Speaker 1: talks all about that. But it was prior to the 403 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: magnetic tapes that were passed from bank to bank or 404 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: that recorded this information. And this is how banks would 405 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 1: settle up transfers through ten thousand, hundred thousand dollar bills. Yea. 406 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: And the hundred thousand UM has Woodrow Wilson on it 407 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: and they only made those for about three weeks. But um, 408 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: that was never like in the public. That was just 409 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: between banks, Like, no, it was never in circulation. That's 410 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: still there's still around from what I understand though, Yeah, 411 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 1: that was um in nineteen I'm sorry. In two thousand nine, 412 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,719 Speaker 1: there were less than four hundred five dollar bills, thousand 413 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 1: dollar bills, five thousand dollar bills, and ten thousand dollar 414 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,399 Speaker 1: bills um, all between like three and four hundred still 415 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: in circulation, which I thought was pretty interesting. And they're 416 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 1: usually worth frame now, you know, but there were way 417 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: more than their face value. Um. This mental plus article 418 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,439 Speaker 1: points out that if you have a pristine ten thousand 419 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: dollar bill, yeah, it's worth at least ten times that. Wow. 420 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,359 Speaker 1: And so they all had different presidents throughout the years. 421 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: It wasn't like a single version of it. Uh, there 422 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: was a bunch of different versions of all those except 423 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 1: for the hundred thousand. Yeah, it was always Wilson, right, Yeah, 424 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 1: because they just printed it for three weeks? Would would he? Um? 425 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: I wonder why he get that honor? Yeah? I don't know, 426 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: because he was money. He didn't even know it. So uh, 427 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: with electronic money, another few things really helps submit that 428 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 1: as a as a viable thing. One was the first 429 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: credit card and Steen fifty Diners Club said, you know what, 430 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: rich businessman, here's a piece of plastic, so you can 431 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: impress your friends by not even carrying cash and pay 432 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,600 Speaker 1: for whatever you want with this thing, and then we'll 433 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: charge you some interest and then you'll pay us back. Yeah. 434 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 1: And we got even further from the commodity by saying, 435 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,360 Speaker 1: now you're not even using cash. Yeah, we're using electronic 436 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 1: promisory notes by charging this that's the promissory note. And 437 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: then they realize, hey, this shouldn't be just for rich dudes, 438 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 1: because we can financially cripple everybody exactly. This interesting is 439 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,959 Speaker 1: really neat. So everyone should have a credit card, and 440 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: today there's over two hundred million visas, which started in 441 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: n h Then the Social Security Administration started doing e 442 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: deposits all the way back in and people kind of 443 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: got used to the idea that all right, I see 444 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 1: it's in my bank account now, so I trust it. Yeah, 445 00:25:57,800 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: which is a big step forward. Yeah, it took a 446 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: little a while catch on. But then now it's, like 447 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: the grabster points out, people started paying bills, transferring money 448 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: between accounts, and sending money electronically without ever even touching it. Yeah, 449 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:14,119 Speaker 1: which is true, Like I hadn't thought about that, But 450 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: there's plenty of money that that I earned and spend. 451 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: That's just like it's never physical ever, that's all my money. Yeah, 452 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: I almost never have or use cash. Like I get 453 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 1: paid electronically. It goes to a bank in number, and 454 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: then I have a American Express that I pay for 455 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: things with, and then I pay for that electronically. And 456 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 1: I'm just trusting that this is. As long as the 457 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: lights are on, I guess everything's working out right exactly 458 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,840 Speaker 1: basic and basically it's like the future, like what everybody 459 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: talks about in the future, We're not gonna have money, 460 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: We're gonna have credits. Well, the future is here. Apparently 461 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: eight percent of the world's currency is in hard like currency. 462 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,360 Speaker 1: This all sounds so dangerous when you start talking about 463 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,439 Speaker 1: it like that, Like all it takes is one big 464 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:03,959 Speaker 1: crash of electronic crash, and what if they were Like 465 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: all that money that you thought you had it is 466 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 1: not here now we don't know what happened to it. 467 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,880 Speaker 1: It's entirely possible. Remember they have the fd I s though, Yeah, 468 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: that's United States at least. Remember the early days of 469 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: internet purchases. How distrustful. We all were, Yeah, I'm not 470 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: putting my credit card, I'm not typing that thing in 471 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: and it never occurred to that. We hand it to 472 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: like a waiter or you know, whoever that can do 473 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:30,679 Speaker 1: anything with it. And then it finally just became less 474 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: important just because so many people were doing it, that 475 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 1: the chances of your credit card being stolen, um, we're lower. 476 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: Coupled with the fact that it became evident that credit 477 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: card companies were willing to just like wipe clean that's accrude, 478 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,240 Speaker 1: like that illegally, Yeah, made people a lot a lot 479 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: more trusting of it. I guess. Yeah. I had a 480 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: lady in front of me this grocery store the day 481 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: that wrote a check and I was just like, oh, 482 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 1: were just like I know, I felt like a jerk 483 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: because I had a wait longer minute, but I did 484 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,680 Speaker 1: want to say, like, you know, there's a better way 485 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,080 Speaker 1: of doing that now checks And I can't remember the 486 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:09,840 Speaker 1: last check I wrote. It's been years and years and 487 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: years since I've written a check for me. It's usually 488 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: like like a government thing like a tag or something, 489 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,879 Speaker 1: tag tax or something. Yeah, I do all that with 490 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: my card too. Uh. And then of course, if you 491 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,159 Speaker 1: want to talk about the bleeding edge of electronic money, 492 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: um e g. Bitcoin and that kind of thing, should 493 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: go listen to our bitcoin episode, which we're told was 494 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: pretty good. Yeah. I think even the guys from pot 495 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: on Pod reviewed our show and they listened to the 496 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: midpoint episode and said we did a good job of 497 00:28:42,640 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: explaining it. Yeah. So, Chuck, we're talking about the gold 498 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 1: standard and how that's what the Wizard of Oz is about. 499 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 1: And um, prior to that, with the gold standard, it 500 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: was I mean, inflation happened. The price of gold fluctuated, 501 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: so therefore the price of anything pegged to it, like 502 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,840 Speaker 1: the dollar, would fluctuate too. With when we abandoned the 503 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: gold standard officially in nine one, but prior to that, 504 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: I think in the thirties is when it really started. Um, 505 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:33,280 Speaker 1: we really took a huge leap of faith because there's 506 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: nothing backing it anymore, Like there's a huge it's a 507 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 1: myth that you can take your dollar bill and turn 508 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: it in for gold. They will, some guys in white 509 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: coats will come and lock you up in a padded 510 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: room for a little while. They said, you can come 511 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: and buy this gold ring with your cash. Pretty much 512 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: you can buy gold bullion with it, but you cannot, Yeah, exactly, 513 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: and we're going to charge you some fees for that too. Um. 514 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: So once we abandoned the gold standard, it was a 515 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: big leap of faith because um, as Milton Freedman put it, quote, 516 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: the pieces of green paper have value because everybody thinks 517 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:08,640 Speaker 1: they have value. And as long as we all think 518 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 1: together and believe together, they will stay valuable. But there 519 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,959 Speaker 1: are certain times, there's certain occasions and events when we 520 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 1: all believe that things become a little less valuable, that 521 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,200 Speaker 1: currency is a little less valuable than at other times. 522 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 1: So this perception of value can have an impact on 523 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,000 Speaker 1: the value of currency. And the Grabster gives a pretty 524 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: good example. It's when we deflate or devalue currency relative 525 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: to other currencies, which will do sometimes because we want 526 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 1: to attract that currency's native investors over here in the US. 527 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,800 Speaker 1: So like if right now you can buy five francs 528 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 1: to the dollar, euros five euros to the dollar, um, 529 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: and we say, what, we want to encourage more investment 530 00:30:55,560 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: in Europe, So we're gonna let the dollar devalue um, 531 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: and we're gonna make it so it's equal to three 532 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: euros and then we'll stabilize it. Well, that will encourage 533 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 1: more people in Europe to invest in the United States 534 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 1: because the Euro now has more buying power relative to 535 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 1: the dollar. But everyone in the in the United States 536 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: because wtf, we got all these dollars and now it's 537 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 1: worth less because you just told us that you're going 538 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: to make it worth less relative to the euro. Nothing 539 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 1: really happened to the dollar that everybody agreed literally overnight 540 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: that the dollar is less valuable now because it was devalued. 541 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: That's one way that that currency can fluctuate these days. Yeah, 542 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:43,480 Speaker 1: I wish I had a better understanding of when people 543 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: say what the dollar is worth. Sometimes it just makes 544 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: my head spin. I have one for you. You're gonna 545 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: love this, man. Let's hear it. The Big Mac Index. 546 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: It's it's exactly what you just said. If you want 547 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: an understanding of it. There is a guy in six 548 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: who wrote in The Economist basically the Big Mac Index, 549 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 1: and and it says we cover this in uh one 550 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: of them. We may have done it in their stuff 551 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: super stuff gut to the economy. Then that was eight 552 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 1: years ago, though it was, But what so we'll go 553 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: over it again. The big Mac index says the price 554 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: of an end of a big mac relative to the 555 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: price of a big mac in another country. Right, So 556 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: it's basically saying you can, and it's tongue in cheek, 557 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: but it actually does kind of work. You can you 558 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,920 Speaker 1: can show the buying power, the purchasing power of one 559 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 1: UM currency relative to another based on how much a 560 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: big mac costs in each country. And once you once 561 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 1: you see it and and look at it like that, 562 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: you go to the economists and type in the big 563 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: Mac index and it'll bring this up. And it's an 564 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 1: interactive scale UM which makes it awesome, and you understand 565 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: relative purchasing power. Well, I should spend some time that side, 566 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,000 Speaker 1: thank you. It will make me hungry. So then the 567 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: other way that things can devalue is with supply, and 568 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: that is just basically supplying demand. Like when there's a 569 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:16,080 Speaker 1: lot more money available, it by nature becomes less valuable. Yeah, 570 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: demand is high prices go up. Demand supplies high prices 571 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: go down, right, So that's inflation and deflation that goes up, 572 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 1: it goes down. Okay, I guess we should answer this. 573 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 1: Are you watching the Simpsons every episode marathon? I've tuned 574 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: in something here and there. But what I've really enjoyed 575 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 1: is the influx of articles about like the best seasons, 576 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: the best episodes. It's really like a trip down memory lane. 577 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 1: I do not have f x X and so therefore 578 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:47,600 Speaker 1: I'm bereft. Yeah, but you've seen them all anyway. Yeah, 579 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:49,400 Speaker 1: it would be so nice to see him again like this, 580 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:51,240 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, I mean they're running the NonStop. Like 581 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:53,640 Speaker 1: you wake up at three am, it's on. I know, 582 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,560 Speaker 1: I don't think I wake up at three am and 583 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: realize that I'm missing a Simpsons right then, Well you 584 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: caught Bed Goes Up, Bed Goes Down on. That's because 585 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,760 Speaker 1: I love the Simpson exactly. So. Uh. We talked about 586 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,520 Speaker 1: inflation and deflation, but um, if you want to know 587 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,880 Speaker 1: more about that, you should check out how much Money 588 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 1: is there in the world, are super Stuff, Guide to 589 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:16,240 Speaker 1: the Economy, stag Inflation. Those are all some good episodes 590 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,960 Speaker 1: we've done on that kind of thing. Yeah. Um, and 591 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier, you know, I talked about I can 592 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,800 Speaker 1: see how you might be incentivised to just print loads 593 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: of money if you want more of it. Um, and 594 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,720 Speaker 1: we've covered and other shows why that's a bad idea. 595 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 1: But never has it been more evident than in post 596 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,640 Speaker 1: World War One Germany. Um, they had I mean, this 597 00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:39,080 Speaker 1: is amazing stuff. I think Zimbabwe beat them eventually, didn't they. 598 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:43,600 Speaker 1: I couldn't remember. It'swere hungry. Well, no, I think it 599 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:47,240 Speaker 1: was Zimbabwe. UM, I don't know. Maybe it was hungry, 600 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,040 Speaker 1: remember hungry. He had a revolution in the forties. That 601 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 1: was just staggering numbers of hyperinflation. Yeah, but this is 602 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,120 Speaker 1: a pretty good example of hyperinflation. Well, after World War One, 603 00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,959 Speaker 1: Germany um owed and war reparations about thirty three billion 604 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:05,040 Speaker 1: dollars in like, they didn't have that kind of money, 605 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,959 Speaker 1: so they said, well, let's just print a bunch of it. Uh, 606 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,440 Speaker 1: and see what happened. Um. It's not gonna be backed 607 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:13,960 Speaker 1: by any kind of commodity. Um. And it resulted in 608 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:17,920 Speaker 1: hyper inflation to the extent where in nineteen twenty three 609 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,880 Speaker 1: it was called, uh, the hyper inflation of the Weimer 610 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:26,400 Speaker 1: Republic from June one to January. It's because they funded 611 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:29,120 Speaker 1: the war through borrowing. Only they didn't like raise taxes 612 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,239 Speaker 1: to pay for the war. They literally borrowed money to 613 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 1: pay for World War One, and it resulted in eventually 614 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 1: forty two billion billion with a b German marks was 615 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 1: equal to one penny of US money, and I didn't 616 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:46,359 Speaker 1: think that could be right, but it's right, yeah, um. 617 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:50,439 Speaker 1: And it was so bad that they there was something 618 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,360 Speaker 1: called a mental condition called zero stroke that it caused, 619 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,279 Speaker 1: which is when you're compelled to write endless rows of 620 00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: zeros because when you see some of these numbers, it 621 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,480 Speaker 1: just you're like, is that even a number? When you're 622 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,360 Speaker 1: trying to do these calculations, and it it. There was 623 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: an influx of zero stroke in Germany at the time, 624 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,080 Speaker 1: and so I was wondered, like, how did Germany ever recover? 625 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:15,920 Speaker 1: They basically started over again and said this isn't money anymore. 626 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,439 Speaker 1: We're gonna start over and we're gonna have a new 627 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:25,200 Speaker 1: bank issues something called uh Deutsche marks no the um 628 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:28,680 Speaker 1: rent rent a mark, and this is our new money. 629 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:32,040 Speaker 1: Not all that money is no good to start, but 630 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,840 Speaker 1: this is actually back. There was a bank, the Deutschen Rent, 631 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 1: a bank mortgaged land and industrial goods to the tune 632 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:41,239 Speaker 1: of about three point two billion dollars like hard assets 633 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 1: that we're backing this money. And it worked and it 634 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: turned around almost overnight to the point where a U. 635 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:51,319 Speaker 1: S Dollar was worth four point to rent a marks 636 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:54,760 Speaker 1: but a four point two billion, and I guess everyone 637 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,239 Speaker 1: just got on boards, all right. That old money is 638 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,719 Speaker 1: no good wallpaper your walls with it, and now we 639 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 1: have new money, you know. UM. A lot of historians 640 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 1: credit that really difficult period that Germany was put through, 641 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:12,680 Speaker 1: um or put itself through, depending on who you ask, 642 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: after World War One is the reason why fascism was 643 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:17,759 Speaker 1: allowed to take hold there. I believe it in the 644 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:19,759 Speaker 1: lead up to World War two because I mean when 645 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:26,520 Speaker 1: I say it's stabilized, its stabilized the money overnight, but 646 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:28,800 Speaker 1: it still wasn't like they were still in bad shape. 647 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,640 Speaker 1: You know, it took a while to dig dig out 648 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:33,839 Speaker 1: of that. Did you see that thing I sent you 649 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:39,120 Speaker 1: on um um Cowry shells, Oh yeah, it's a little bit. 650 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:43,800 Speaker 1: Cowrie shells are sea snail shells. They're little, tiny white 651 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: shells that look porcelain and literally for about two thousand 652 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: years UM they were used as currency throughout the world, 653 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 1: and they came almost exclusively from the Maldives, UM. And 654 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: they would like, if you were a trader, you would 655 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,239 Speaker 1: go down to the Maldives, you would buy about a 656 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:09,040 Speaker 1: million uh cowarie shells for one gold dinar. Then you 657 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:13,160 Speaker 1: go back to India or go to India and you 658 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:15,680 Speaker 1: would sell ten thousand of them for a gold dinar, 659 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 1: so you could just make a ton of money overnight. 660 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:20,279 Speaker 1: And then the further and further away they got from 661 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,839 Speaker 1: the Maldives, and the closer and closer to China they got, 662 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,200 Speaker 1: which is a country that used these things like crazy, 663 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:29,719 Speaker 1: as they were worth more and more. Yeah, and the Maldives, 664 00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:32,919 Speaker 1: it's just like you just scoop up baskets full of them, 665 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:35,880 Speaker 1: and they were not nearly as valuable, but as you 666 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: got away from the Maldives, they grew more and more valuable, 667 00:38:38,719 --> 00:38:42,080 Speaker 1: and they were used as currency literally until the mid 668 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:44,840 Speaker 1: nineteenth century. I mean they started and we have the 669 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:49,359 Speaker 1: earliest reference in about three fifty b C. And in 670 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:54,000 Speaker 1: the eighteen fifties is when the the currency finally collapsed, 671 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:55,759 Speaker 1: just because there were so many of them on the 672 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,160 Speaker 1: market that people would, you know, they would pay using 673 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:02,919 Speaker 1: five in cowery shells and you'd have to count out 674 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,680 Speaker 1: five hundred thousand cowery shells. And didnt they use them 675 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:07,799 Speaker 1: because they were like pretty and they were hardy and 676 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:12,680 Speaker 1: like didn't break really easy. And yeah, plentiful small so 677 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: you can make change with them. Yeah, and people like them, 678 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:18,880 Speaker 1: so therefore they became currency. But they lasted his currency 679 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,160 Speaker 1: for like two thousand years. Again, all you have to 680 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:24,120 Speaker 1: do is agree that's something, although that's a weird thing, 681 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:25,880 Speaker 1: because that's something you can just go out and find 682 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:28,680 Speaker 1: if you're in the right part of the world, if 683 00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:30,799 Speaker 1: you're in the right exactly, that's why they were less 684 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:34,640 Speaker 1: valuable in the Maltives, more valuable like in China. So 685 00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:37,800 Speaker 1: you want to talk etymology, Yeah, you said, what was 686 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:40,359 Speaker 1: the first one? He said, the buck comes from from 687 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,000 Speaker 1: buckskin and the sawbuck. I don't know where the sawbuck 688 00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:47,560 Speaker 1: is a tenner, right, I believe so the word fee 689 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,799 Speaker 1: comes from the German word for cattle v v i 690 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:57,400 Speaker 1: e h. Interesting right, yeah. Speaking of shells, you know, 691 00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:02,600 Speaker 1: I believe Pacific Northwest tribes used whop them, whamp them yea, 692 00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:07,200 Speaker 1: which were white shells um and the phrase shell out 693 00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:10,360 Speaker 1: comes from that, like when you pay somebody in shells, 694 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:12,640 Speaker 1: you were shelling out. I wonder if that's where clams 695 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:21,719 Speaker 1: comes from. Probably, what's your funny word for money? Beans, bones, rock, samoleons, samoleians. 696 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:24,400 Speaker 1: I tried to look up Simoleon, because I think everyone 697 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,560 Speaker 1: knows that's the cartoon, right currency, But I couldn't find anything. 698 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:31,640 Speaker 1: It kept defaulting and saying, do you mean Somali money? 699 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,480 Speaker 1: I was like, no, I mean Samoleon. I think it's um. 700 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,000 Speaker 1: I even put cartoons, and I couldn't find much of 701 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,279 Speaker 1: anything except like I couldn't find an origin, like who 702 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:45,399 Speaker 1: made that up? Let's say Napoleon since it rhymes maybe 703 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:49,160 Speaker 1: Chuck Jones. It's possible. I could ask our friend Jessica. 704 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:53,719 Speaker 1: She might know. You saw Charles Schultz's granddaughter emailed us. Huh, No, 705 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,760 Speaker 1: I didn't see that. Yes, And now Chuck Jones's granddaughter 706 00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:59,480 Speaker 1: and Charles Schultz's granddaughter are both stuff you should know fans, 707 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:03,800 Speaker 1: which is uh pretty awesome waiting for a returne emails 708 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:07,040 Speaker 1: like you gotta give me some inside story here, please 709 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,920 Speaker 1: about Grandpa? Right exactly? Um? Do you want to know 710 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,759 Speaker 1: the atomology of Semolean? Do you have it? Yeah? Man? 711 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:18,799 Speaker 1: How did my Google uh skills not pan out? I 712 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:22,120 Speaker 1: am proud of you, Chuck yeah for not saying yeah, 713 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:25,920 Speaker 1: uh so Semolean is spelled s I M O L 714 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,759 Speaker 1: e O N. It's an English word, all right. That's 715 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,640 Speaker 1: where I got sidetracked. They think that it is a 716 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:36,080 Speaker 1: late nineteenth century blend of simone, which is apparently a 717 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 1: French word for dollar and Napoleon. Really yeah, and why 718 00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:45,680 Speaker 1: was it exclusive to cartoons? I don't know, but they 719 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,640 Speaker 1: think it came from New Orleans in the late nineteenth century. 720 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:53,600 Speaker 1: So simone um was either dollar or sixpence coin. It 721 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:58,239 Speaker 1: was a British slang and Napoleon, so I guess that's 722 00:41:58,239 --> 00:42:00,279 Speaker 1: where Semolean came from. Would you get that? What's the 723 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:04,000 Speaker 1: website words sense dot eu? All right? I believe that 724 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,200 Speaker 1: dot eu that says at all. They have a clean 725 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:09,000 Speaker 1: look to their website, which makes me believe that they 726 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,040 Speaker 1: know what they're talking about. Yeah, when you look at 727 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:13,520 Speaker 1: a website, you can get a lot of information about 728 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,880 Speaker 1: its accuracy, just if it looks like a MySpace page 729 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:21,160 Speaker 1: from um, I hope my space is around in nineteen 730 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:26,319 Speaker 1: because the penance will right in. Yeah, it wasn't my 731 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:30,760 Speaker 1: space then my Space came about and the word dollar itself. 732 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,360 Speaker 1: UM account in Czechoslovakia and a town called well, it 733 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:37,800 Speaker 1: doesn't matter where it was. He started minting silver coins 734 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:42,680 Speaker 1: in fifteen nineteen and they were called uh Taller Grossian, 735 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:47,720 Speaker 1: which was shortened to Taller's and Taller eventually became dollar 736 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,480 Speaker 1: in the United States today. And we talked in the 737 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:54,360 Speaker 1: Salt episode about how the word salary came from assault. 738 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,960 Speaker 1: So I looked again because I think he said that 739 00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:01,040 Speaker 1: that wasn't true, that that's a myth, and it's not 740 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:04,479 Speaker 1: necessarily true. That it's a myth from what I can tell, 741 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:10,360 Speaker 1: it's just unproven. So in the first century, Pliny the Elder, 742 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:14,600 Speaker 1: the Roman historian, says a good beer too, that that's 743 00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:17,440 Speaker 1: what the words salt came from. Was they used to 744 00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:21,560 Speaker 1: pay soldiers in antiquity in salt. But he doesn't back 745 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:26,439 Speaker 1: it up and they can't verify it. That's a good story. Yeah, 746 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:28,880 Speaker 1: at the very least is about a two thousand year 747 00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:32,040 Speaker 1: old story. So let's go with you. It's true. Yeah. 748 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,320 Speaker 1: I had the history teacher in college, my best history 749 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:37,400 Speaker 1: teacher ever, that said, never let facts get in the 750 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:39,680 Speaker 1: way of a good story. I've heard that he was 751 00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:42,040 Speaker 1: a good guy. I can't remember his name. He might 752 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,480 Speaker 1: have had him. He was man. He was great. One 753 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:50,319 Speaker 1: of my first big inspirational teachers in college. That is, 754 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:52,800 Speaker 1: I got you so much so that I don't remember 755 00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:56,600 Speaker 1: his name. That one guy. Uh. If you want to 756 00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,760 Speaker 1: learn more about currency, you should listen to any number 757 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:03,600 Speaker 1: of our episodes on currency, including this one again. Or 758 00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:05,920 Speaker 1: you can type currency into the search part how stuff 759 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,160 Speaker 1: works dot Com. It will bring up this article. And 760 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:10,279 Speaker 1: since I said search parts, time for a listener mail. 761 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:14,120 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this rare shout out. We don't do 762 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:16,800 Speaker 1: this a lot um, but I'm gonna do it today 763 00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:20,080 Speaker 1: because I like the cut of this dude's jib. My 764 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:25,839 Speaker 1: name is Jared Bagnal exclamation point. I'm writing to see 765 00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:27,400 Speaker 1: if you could do a tribute to my wife, a 766 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,239 Speaker 1: Bree Bagnal your listener mail. I'm a huge fan of 767 00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:32,759 Speaker 1: you guys, but my wife is most definitely your number 768 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:35,160 Speaker 1: one fan. You can safely say that a few hundred 769 00:44:35,200 --> 00:44:38,279 Speaker 1: of your listeners could be attributed to her alone. She 770 00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:40,719 Speaker 1: has dozens of people hooked on s Y s K 771 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:44,680 Speaker 1: and from them a dozen each. She's so excited every 772 00:44:44,719 --> 00:44:46,719 Speaker 1: Tuesday and Thursday that your podcast comes out. She tells 773 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:51,160 Speaker 1: everyone about them. She's the nicest person in the world, caring, sweet, shy, 774 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:54,120 Speaker 1: and deserve some recognition for being so awesome. Our one 775 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:57,879 Speaker 1: year anniversary is coming up. Got married in Jamaica, and 776 00:44:58,239 --> 00:45:00,640 Speaker 1: though it was an amazing experience, she's obamed that we 777 00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:03,800 Speaker 1: couldn't go with our family. UM, I would like to see. 778 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:06,080 Speaker 1: I would like to see if you could dedicate your 779 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:10,640 Speaker 1: listener portion to her into our anniversary so everyone can 780 00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:13,680 Speaker 1: know that she's great. That's pretty nice, Chuck, Thanks Josh, 781 00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:15,840 Speaker 1: Chuck and Jerry. Um did I spell that right? No? 782 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:18,040 Speaker 1: You did not? How do you spell it? J e 783 00:45:18,239 --> 00:45:20,320 Speaker 1: r r Y. Let's just get it on the record 784 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:24,400 Speaker 1: if we haven't before, j E R I, that's right. Um. 785 00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:26,680 Speaker 1: For the five percent of people who listen to listener mail, 786 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:30,640 Speaker 1: hey guys, this would be a great surprise for her 787 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,359 Speaker 1: while running into your podcast to hear this tribute. So 788 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:37,480 Speaker 1: Jared number two fan writing on behalf of Bree number 789 00:45:37,480 --> 00:45:40,799 Speaker 1: one fan, Happy anniversary. Way to go, way to make 790 00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:44,200 Speaker 1: it to the one year mark. I wish you many 791 00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:46,799 Speaker 1: many more years of happiness to come. We both do. Yes, 792 00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:49,640 Speaker 1: I'm speaking for Josh, although thanks man. Do you wish them? 793 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:54,080 Speaker 1: Of course I do? Okay, you're like, I'm glad for them? Yeah. Uh. 794 00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:57,160 Speaker 1: If you want to take your chances to see if 795 00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:00,000 Speaker 1: Chuck will give you or your loved on a shout 796 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:03,759 Speaker 1: out on the episode you know the podcast That's what 797 00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:08,120 Speaker 1: I meant good luck uh exactly. You can try tweeting 798 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:10,480 Speaker 1: it to us at s y s K podcast. You 799 00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:13,719 Speaker 1: can join us on Facebook dot com slash Stuff you 800 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:17,520 Speaker 1: Should Know. You can send us an email to stuff 801 00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:22,160 Speaker 1: Podcast at how stuff Works dot com and as always, 802 00:46:22,239 --> 00:46:24,320 Speaker 1: join us at our home on the web, Stuff you 803 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:29,200 Speaker 1: Should Know dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a 804 00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,320 Speaker 1: production of iHeart Radios. How stuff Works for more podcasts 805 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:34,239 Speaker 1: for my heart Radio because at the iHeart Radio app, 806 00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:37,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.