Gold!

     Why do some things have value? Take gold, for example. Before we started to manipulate electricity, one would be hard-pressed to point out any real value to the 79th element. Three factors, though: It doesn't tarnish, it's very malleable, and, and... Huh, I swore I had three things when I started that thought. Two things, then! So why then, would a person covet such a thing? You couldn't even make a particularly useful tool out of it because it's so soft. But I have a theory. (Actually, I have lots of theories, but this one is pertinent.)

     We didn't always live under so many roofs. (By the way: If you click this picture you get a real big one at high resolution so you could, say, use it as a desktop.) We used to be outside. Like, a lot. In this golden autumn sunshine the world turns to jewelry. But the source is intangible. You don't have to spend much time outside to realize that the sun is a pretty big part of the equation of everything. It is, if not divine, at the very least magical. And I think that this is the reason we love gold. At first it was the closest thing to the sun we could grasp to our lovely star, and then we forgot why. It was valuable because it was valuable and people traded things like food and clothing for it. Gems too. Without light, a diamond is just a rock.

     Anyhow... I've got some coughing to do. See you later!