# What is the most valuable (US$) thing on earth, per gram of weight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646 "2004-03-22T01:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/1 "2004-03-22T01:29:07Z")
What is the most valuable (US$) thing on earth, per gram of weight? I would’ve thought Philly Cheesteaks if the serving size was 0.000002 grams! ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/2 "2004-03-22T01:36:20Z")
Per millilitre? Printer ink. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/3 "2004-03-22T01:36:46Z")
[Quoth the Master:](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_329a.html) > [@](#): > > Some years ago what was then the Atomic Energy Commission held a special clearance sale on an element called californium-252, which they were letting go for a mere $1,000 per microgram, or about $350 billion per pound–just slightly higher than the price of sirloin. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/4 "2004-03-22T01:38:04Z")
Firstly, welcome to the boards! Cecil did a [column on the most expensive thing in the world.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_329a.html) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/5 "2004-03-22T01:42:33Z")
I won! ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/6 "2004-03-22T01:47:23Z")
DOH! Bested again! I’ll never preview and check link funcionality again! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/7 "2004-03-22T01:57:59Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > [Quoth the Master:](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_329a.html) That article is a touch old. According to Emsley’s [Nature’s Building Blocks](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0198503407), Cf-252 is sold for cancer therapy at $10/microgram. ---
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/8 "2004-03-22T02:01:53Z")
> [@Chandeleur](#): > > Firstly, welcome to the boards! > > Cecil did a [column on the most expensive thing in the world.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_329a.html) Thanks for the welcome here. The link you sent me to was dated 1973. From 1975 … **252-Cf is now being offered for sale by the O.R.N.L. at a cost of $10/mg. As of May, 1975, more than 63 mg have been produced and sold.** Source: [http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/98.html](http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/98.html) Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Chemistry Division: Periodic Table - Californium 30+ years later, I think my Philly cheese steak might even cost moe? ---
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/9 "2004-03-22T02:12:44Z")
Sorry, meant “is” as in today. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/10 "2004-03-22T02:21:29Z")
If you believe this [source](http://www.gfsnet.org/msweb/its_elementary_02%20copy/californium.htm), recent pricing is $160 / **micro** gram. (mg = milligram). ---
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/11 "2004-03-22T02:26:34Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > If you believe this [source](http://www.gfsnet.org/msweb/its_elementary_02%20copy/californium.htm), recent pricing is $160 / **micro** gram. (mg = milligram). Went to the _“source”_ link. Who is Ben S. and what was his research? ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/12 "2004-03-22T02:44:16Z")
> [@Gone4Subs](#): > > Who is Ben S. and what was his research? A high school student, doing a school project. This is probably the source of his [research](http://www.speclab.com/elements/californium.htm). The $160/mic is for Cf-249, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/13 "2004-03-22T03:01:14Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > A high school student, doing a school project. This is probably the source of his [research](http://www.speclab.com/elements/californium.htm). The $160/mic is for Cf-249, apparently. Thanks, never anticipated a chemical. Thought, maybe, some kind of art. But you had me laughing, kept thinking Ben S. was Ben Stiller! ---
**Author:** ![agiantdwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@agiantdwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agiantdwarf)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/14 "2004-03-22T03:12:41Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > A high school student, doing a school project. This is probably the source of his [research](http://www.speclab.com/elements/californium.htm). The $160/mic is for Cf-249, apparently. Actually, it seems like he’s a middle school student. I’ll be graduating college in 2010, and it says he’ll be graduating high school in 2009. So I’m guessing he’s in 7th grade. Sheesh, citations of middle schoolers’ reports in GQ? ---
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/15 "2004-03-22T03:24:14Z")
> [@agiantdwarf](#): > > Actually, it seems like he’s a middle school student. I’ll be graduating college in 2010, and it says he’ll be graduating high school in 2009. So I’m guessing he’s in 7th grade. > > Sheesh, citations of middle schoolers’ reports in GQ? Thanks. Don’t mind that so much, Ben could be the next Max Planck. My only concern is that the CDC reference was dated 1997-1998. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/16 "2004-03-22T03:31:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Sheesh, citations of middle schoolers’ reports in GQ? Heck, it’s the weekend. The serious question answerers will be back on Monday once when they get to work & the boredom sets in. _Then_ we’ll get the Straight Dope. Meanwhile, I’ll fill in as best I can … Note the OP asked for the “most valuable thing.” It didn’t have to be for sale. I’m suspecting the recent experiments involving Bose-Einstein condensates, or perhaps studies of antimatter would probably take the prize . The laboratory(i.e. the factory) has an operating budget of several million, if not several dozen million, US dollars per year and the gross production is a few hundred sub-atomic particles. That’s gotta be a lotta money per pound or gram. ---
**Author:** ![Gone4Subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gone4Subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone4Subs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/17 "2004-03-22T03:36:21Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > I won! > [@Chandeleur](#): > > DOH! > > Bested again! I’ll never preview and check link funcionality again! > 🙂 I don’t understand? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/18 "2004-03-22T04:20:00Z")
**Gone4Subs** When someone posts a question that [Cecil Adams](http://straightdope.com/) has addressed in one of his columns, there’s usually a race to see which of us can link to it quicker. **Chandeleur** allowed himself to get distracted by proofreading and doing that “Welcome Wagon” thing, so he came in second. I, on the other hand, ignored the civilities and assumed that all my linking was correct, so I posted first. It’s all very silly and immature. (But, I won! 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/19 "2004-03-22T04:25:52Z")
But I thought the most valuable things in life were priceless! 😃 (And for everything else, shameless product placement 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-valuable-us-thing-on-earth-per-gram-of-weight/235646/20 "2004-03-22T05:51:39Z")
Sorry, folks. But it seems the most expensive substance on Earth is currently [antimatter](http://www.engr.psu.edu/antimatter/Papers/NASA_anti.pdf), at approximately $62.5 trillion per gram or antiprotons. Warning: link is PDF file.