Yes, really: there’s gold inside every human body — including yours. Before you get any ideas, it’s not much: the average 70 kg body carries about 0.2 milligrams, part of the trace-element toolkit that helps electrical signals travel through us.
The alchemist and the 1,500 gallons
Alchemist Hennig Brand believed gold could be extracted from human urine — and stockpiled 1,500 gallons to prove it (don’t ask). Boiling it down, he instead discovered phosphorus, an element that went on to power both explosives and the fertilizers that feed the world.
Gold in your hair — on purpose
Each strand of hair contains a dozen elements, gold included — and some brands now sell gold hair treatments, claiming the metal slows collagen depletion, boosts elasticity and circulation, and can “lighten and brighten.”
Do the math before mining yourself: at 0.2 mg per person, you’d need about 150,000 people to assemble a single ounce. Your jewellery box remains a far better source.
The gold in your drawer beats the gold in your hair — and we’ll price it on the spot.
