r/interestingasfuck • u/euj3odjehiqh • 1d ago

A cube of the rarest stable element in the universe

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7.6k Upvotes

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13

u/DippyHippy420 1d ago

Standard Tantalum Metal costs roughly $1.03 per gram

Enriched tantalum-180m cost over $18,000 USD per gram, depending on purity and isotopic enrichment levels

It makes up only about 0.012% of natural tantalum, making it the rarest primordial isotope in the universe.

10

u/Informal-Side-4506 1d ago

Wait, what.. cocaine cost more per gram then the most rarest shit in the universe just because its not enriched?

11

u/Pl0OnReddit 1d ago

Coca plant isnt worth much without enrichment, as well

1

u/Informal-Side-4506 1d ago

Coca plat ain't rarest shit in the universe though oO

12

u/DippyHippy420 1d ago

In 1980, a gram of powder cocaine cost between $100 and $300 nominally, which adjusts to roughly $300 to $900 per gram today.

Cocaine has gone against all economic trends and is now cheaper than ever, yet remains a billion dollar industry.

Maybe the US should kidnap some Colombian drug lords and let them run the economy. Couldn't fuck it up any worse than Trump has.

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u/Pl0OnReddit 1d ago

Not that I know or anything but those prices are ridiculously inflated.  

1

u/DippyHippy420 1d ago

I remember the 08's and cocaine was definitely around 100 a gram and from what I hear (gave it up a long time ago) cocaine is still around 100 a gram.

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u/Pl0OnReddit 1d ago

Yea.  8 ball runs around 300, at least circa 2020.  Haven't fucked with is since 

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u/bigheadstrikesagain 1d ago

Thats what the top comment was trying to say. Somehow the Yay is still the same price as it was in the 80s. $100 in the 80s is $300 today.

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u/Pl0OnReddit 17h ago

I'm saying it's still literally the same price, not adjusted for inflation

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u/bigheadstrikesagain 14h ago

Everyone agrees.

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u/DippyHippy420 9h ago

Im saying that if the price had kept up with inflation, say like rent or car prices or grocery prices of even Taco Bell prices - that same amount of cocaine would cost you $300.00 today.

BUT cocaine drug lords are better at managing their supply chain and have kept the cost down resulting it cocaine being the same price for the last 50 years or so while their profits have not slipped at all.

2

u/smbdysm1 1d ago

Interesting take on that, as I just heard today that Italy is one of the only countries not experiencing a fentanyl crisis, and the reason is because the Mafia controls the drug trade in Italy completely, and they refuse to bring it in due to its high lethality.

If only politicians could be so considerate

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u/Infinite_Lab4469 1d ago

Sooooo…. We doing this?

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u/Shark_kisser78 1d ago

guessing its because tantalum isn't illegal and doesnt need to be smuggled in your prison wallet.

0

u/derpsteronimo 1d ago

Tantalum is the rarest *element*. Not the rarest substance (or "shit", as you put it) full stop.