Things You Should Know, But Probably Don't

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

you can also make money out of plastic.

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?

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?

FCD = Friends of Charles Darwin

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

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.... ;-)

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

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

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!