Would you believe that a single banknote in your pocket has more bacteria on it than a toilet seat?
Money is much more than just paper and metal. It is a world of financial literacy filled with giant stones, disappearing ink, and billionaires who earn thousands of dollars while they sleep. Understanding economics starts with seeing how weird and wonderful the world of trade actually is.
Welcome to the weirdest, most surprising facts about money you have ever heard. If you stacked every pound coin in the UK on top of each other, the pile would reach the moon and back: twice. Money is a superpower that helps us get the things we need, but the way it works can be totally mind-blowing.
Every year, the people who make the board game Monopoly print more 'money' than the real US Treasury prints in actual dollars!
Weird History and Global Oddities
Long before we had metal coins or paper banknote designs, people used almost anything as currency. In ancient times, people traded salt, cocoa beans, and even squirrel pelts to get what they needed. This system of trading goods without money is called barter.
One of the strangest types of money ever used was on the island of Yap. They used giant limestone disks called Rai stones, some of which were taller than a grown human and weighed as much as a car. Because they were so heavy, people did not even move them when they bought something: they just agreed that the stone now belonged to someone else!
Mira says:
"Can you imagine trying to pay for a toy with a stone as big as a car? You definitely couldn't fit that in a piggy bank!"
- The oldest coins in the world were made over 2,700 years ago in Lydia, which is now Turkey.
- In ancient China, money was sometimes shaped like tiny bronze tools, like knives or spades.
- For hundreds of years, cowrie shells were used as money in parts of Africa and Asia.
- Tea bricks were used as money in Siberia and Mongolia until the 19th century.
- Blood-sucking vampire bats were once used as a symbol on ancient Mayan coins.
Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.
Record-Breakers and Big Numbers
Sometimes, countries print money with so many zeros it is hard to count them. The largest denomination ever printed was the 100 trillion dollar note in Zimbabwe. Even though it had a '1' followed by 14 zeros, it was barely enough to buy a loaf of bread because of a problem called inflation.
If you earned $1 every single second: - In 17 minutes, you would have $1,000. - In 11 days, you would have $1,000,000 (1 million). - In 31 years, you would have $1,000,000,000 (1 billion).
When it comes to spending, some things cost more than you could ever imagine. The International Space Station is the most expensive thing ever built, costing over 150 billion dollars. If you wanted to buy the world's most expensive painting, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, you would need 450 million dollars!
- The richest person in history is often said to be Mansa Musa, a king from West Africa who had so much gold he gave it away for free.
- Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, once earned about 2,500 dollars every single second.
- There are over 180 different currencies used in the world today.
- The most valuable currency in the world is usually the Kuwaiti Dinar, not the Dollar or the Pound.
- Only 8 percent of the world's money exists as physical cash: the rest is just numbers on a computer.
Secrets of the Banknote
Have you ever wondered why money feels different from the paper in your school notebook? That is because most banknotes are not actually paper. In the US, they are made of a mix of cotton and linen, and in the UK, they are made of a special plastic called polymer.
Finn says:
"Wait, if the Zimbabwe note was 100 trillion dollars, why couldn't they just buy every toy in the world with one bill?"
Because money travels through so many hands, it picks up some gross stuff. Scientists found that a single note can carry thousands of types of bacteria. In fact, most US bills have tiny traces of cocaine or other chemicals on them because they have been touched by so many people!
- A typical banknote lasts for about 4 to 10 years before it gets too torn to use.
- Every year, the US government shreds about 7,000 tons of old money and turns it into mulch or compost.
- Some money is designed to glow under ultraviolet light to prove it is not a counterfeit.
- There is more Monopoly money printed every year than real US dollars.
- The US Secret Service was actually created to catch people making fake money, not to protect the President!
Be a money detective! Grab a coin and a piece of paper. Put the coin under the paper and rub a pencil over it. You will see hidden details like tiny dates and symbols that tell the coin's secret history.
Pop Culture and Fictional Fortune
Money is a big deal in our favorite movies and books, too. Have you ever wondered how much Scrooge McDuck has in his giant money bin? According to experts, he is worth about 65 billion dollars. That is a lot of gold to swim in!
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
- Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman, has an estimated wealth of 9 billion dollars.
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) is even richer, with about 12 billion dollars in his high-tech bank account.
- In the Harry Potter world, a golden Galleon is worth about 5 pounds or 7 dollars.
- If you won the lottery and got 1 million dollars in pennies, it would weigh as much as two school buses.
- The first vending machine was invented in ancient Egypt, but it sold holy water, not snacks!
Buying a cool new video game or toy right now makes you feel happy immediately!
Saving that money means you can buy something even bigger and better in the future, like a bike or a laptop.
Mind-Boggling Money Math
Numbers can get really big when we talk about interest and global debt. If you had a billion dollars and spent 1,000 dollars every single day, it would take you 2,740 years to spend it all. Most people cannot even imagine how big a billion really is.
Mira says:
"It is crazy that almost all our money is just invisible numbers on a screen. It is like digital points in a video game, but for real life!"
Imagine if we had no money at all. If you wanted a new pair of shoes, you might have to find someone who has shoes and offer to give them 50 apples or wash their car five times just to get them!
- If you saved just one penny on the first day of the month and doubled it every day, you would have over 10 million dollars by day 30.
- More than 2 trillion dollars is currently in circulation around the globe.
- Over 170 billion coins are produced by the US mint every single year.
- The average person will spend about 20 to 25 years of their life working to earn money.
- North Korea is famous for making nearly perfect fake 100 dollar bills called 'supernotes'.
Money is such an amazing tool. It can help you live the life you want, but it can also help you help others.
Something to Think About
If you could design your own currency for your family or school, what would it look like and what would you use it for?
There are no wrong answers! Some people value art, some value time, and others value helping out. Your money can reflect what you care about most.
Questions About Learning & Teaching Money
What is the most expensive thing in the world?
Who is the richest person ever?
Is digital money 'real' money?
Your Money Adventure Starts Now
Now that you know how weird and wonderful money can be, you are ready to explore even deeper. Whether you are curious about the history-of-money or want to see how money-around-the-world looks today, there is always a new secret to uncover. What will you discover next?
