Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

Things You Should Know, But Probably Don’t

Posted by "GrrlScientist" on November 27, 2006
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Money isn’t made out of paper, it’s made out of cotton.

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How to make your own money shirt.

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Comments

  1. #1 neefer
    November 27, 2006

    You can make paper out of many fibrous plants like cotton, flax, and hemp.

  2. #2 GrrlScientist
    November 27, 2006

    you can also make money out of plastic.

  3. #3 Mustafa Mond, FCD
    November 27, 2006

    Money isn’t made out of paper, it’s made out of cotton.

    That is garbled. Currency paper is composed of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton. Red and blue synthetic fibers of various lengths are distributed evenly throughout the paper. Before World War I these fibers were made of silk.

    Is that what you meant to say?

  4. #4 GrrlScientist
    November 27, 2006

    yes, that is what i meant to say before i gave up splitting hairs.

    but nonetheless, thanks for the info, mustafa. i actually appreciate it. by the way, what does FCD stand for?

  5. #5 Jamie
    November 27, 2006

    FCD = Friends of Charles Darwin

    And actually I think money is made out of sweat. Someone else’s, mostly.

  6. #6 David Harmon
    November 27, 2006

    Jamie: No, money is made of magic. Those pieces of (fancy) paper can be used to buy things solely because everybody agrees that they can…. ;-)

  7. #7 Jamie
    November 27, 2006

    Magic, huh? Is that why money always disappears before the month does?

  8. #8 psilo
    November 28, 2006

    Actually, David is right. Since our currency was unlinked to the gold standard, the value of our money is purely determined by fiat. That is, the government says how much it is worth, and plays around with its buying power with tactics such as printing more or less money.

    If you want a great and entertaining insight into the history of money, currency, natural philosophy and a good healthy dose of european history, I highly reccomend Neal Stephenson’s “Baroque Cycle” (_Quicksilver_, _The Confusion_ and _The System of the World_).

    aloha
    psilo

  9. #9 Mustafa Mond, FCD
    November 28, 2006

    plays around with its buying power with tactics such as printing more or less money.

    Printing more money is easy, but printing less money is a real feat!

    Get your own FCD today!