Fun on Friday: Scared of Gold??

The interwebs are a strange place. We can learn about virtually anything with a few keystrokes. We have all kinds of information right at our fingertips.

Unfortunately, a lot of it is utter BS.

For instance, there was a video that went viral that made some people scared of gold.

Back in the day, the theory was that people weren’t dumb. The problem was a lack of access to information.  The internet ostensibly solves that problem. But I think the internet is actually making dumb people dumber.

The problem is that there are a lot of people out there who believe pretty much anything they hear, no matter how absurd. They have no ability to think critically and distinguish BS from truth. These were the people that led PT Barnum to say, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” (On a quick side-note, there is no evidence that Barnum actually said that. I learned this on the internet.)

The internet allows these people to group together and create their own little echo chambers. Don’t believe me? Search for flat earther groups on Facebook. Yes. There are people on this planet who actually believe the earth is flat. A lot of them. Quick bit of advice – don’t argue with them unless you want a lesson in circular arguments and wild speculation.

At any rate, the point I’m driving at here is that we should be critical of things we read on the interwebs.  It’s kind of the same thing my mom used to tell me when I was a kid: “Don’t believe everything you see on TV.” We should apply that wisdom to the world wide web.

Except this.

You can accept everything I say as 100% correct.

Anyway, I ran across something this week the is a prime example of bizarre stuff that goes viral on the internet because, well, people believe weird stuff. There is a video out there that appears to show a glob of cancer tissue moving away when somebody places a clove of garlic next to it, but it moves closer when a gold ring is placed next to it.

Placing a garlic clove next to the cancer, the cancer moves away from it, trying to keep its distance. Upon placing gold next to the cancer, it is drawn towards the gold and keeps coming closer to it,” the post reads. “Those who have cancer please be advised to avoid wearing gold so as to avoid the cancer’s deteriorating and worsened effects on the body. On the other hand, please keep on consuming garlic. Please keep on forwarding this. It may save a life.”

Let me first point out that if you yank cancer tissue out of a body, it dies within minutes. It’s not like cancer tissue has a life of its own. It’s not a zombie brain. As a doctor interviewed by AFP said, “It is altogether impossible for a piece of ‘dead’ human cancer tissue (removed surgically) to ‘come alive’ and react in the manner displayed in the video clip.”

But let me just throw this out there – if you are inclined to believe this hokum and you fell compelled to get rid of all your gold jewelry, you can send it to me. I’m willing to take the risk. You’re welcome for my service.

The ironic thing is gold nanoparticles are increasingly being used in cancer treatment. For instance, researchers in Mumbai are developing a treating for surface tumors caused by oral, breast and cervical cancer, along with other tumors such melanoma and colon cancer, through photothermal ablation using gold-polymer nanoparticles and near-infrared light.

Only on the internet can gold suddenly become a scary thing.

Another bit of advice — don’t be scared. Buy gold. But don’t believe me. I’m on the internet. Check and verify. A SchiffGold precious metals specialist can help with that. No worries – they’re on the phone! Or you can email info@schiffgold.com.

Fun on Friday is a weekly SchiffGold feature. We dig up some of the off-the-wall and off-beat stories relating to precious metals and share them with you – with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Click here to read other posts in this series.