How would you celebrate the birthday of a government building?
Maybe send out a press release? Perhaps hold a little assembly and let some politician ramble for a while about how great the building is? Maybe host an open house for the public? Or here’s an idea. Just ignore it. After all, it’s a government building. Who really wants to celebrate that?
Well in India, they go for a little more swanky soirée when it comes time to celebrate their government buildings. The Karnataka Assembly building will turn 60 this month and the state assembly secretariat proposed a lavish 2-day festival complete with a gift of gold biscuits for each lawmaker.
The Aztecs described gold as the “excrement of the gods.”
Apparently, it’s also the excrement of mere mortals.
In a widely circulated story, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) reports that about $3.6 million in gold and silver are lost each year in wastewater and sludge discharged from Swiss wastewater plants each year.
“But however mysterious is nature, however ignorant the doctor, however imperfect the present state of physical science, the patronage and the success of quacks and quackeries are infinitely more wonderful than those of honest and laborious men of science and their careful experiments.” – P.T. Barnum
Yes. There are plenty of quacks in the world. And you’ll find more than your fair share in the realm of precious metals investing. There are scammers and con artists, and smooth talkers galore out there, eager to separate the unwary from their hard-earned cash.
A few Fridays back, I shared some of the innovative ways people have come up with to smuggle gold. Like I said in that article, gold smuggling is a very lucrative business. People want gold, and they’ll go to great lengths to have it. But smuggling isn’t as easy as you might think, and people have put gold in some places … Well, let’s just say it couldn’t have been a comfortable experience.
OK – I’ll just come out and say it. More than a few smugglers have resorted to sticking gold up their butts.
Apple recently announced its new iPhone 10 to much hoopla. It will feature a retina display, increased storage and RAM, and enhanced facial recognition (which is either real cool or incredibly creepy, depending on your point of view.)
Of course, this will all come with a pretty hefty price tag of around $1,000. A lot of people were taken aback by the cost of the new Apple gadget. On the other hand, there are apparently at least a few people out there who think that isn’t nearly enough. I mean, who wants a plain old, boring $1,000 iPhone 10 when, for a mere $69,995, you can walk around with the solid gold Lux iPhone X Ingot pressed against your ear?
