Usually we consider stuff like cars, and jewelry to be expensive luxury items that only few people can afford (compared to billions who can’t, I mean). What other stuff do you consider to be expensive? Maybe private jets, some tech gadgets? Well how about simple black ink? How much would you pay for a gallon of Indian ink? Whatever number you’re thinking of – it’s not even in the ball park. So naturally a question appeared: what other liquids are expensive as f#$k?
Here is a list of 10 most expensive liquids found on this planet. No alcohol included! As it turns out, even the most expensive bottle of whiskey is cheap as water.
1. Human blood – $1,500/gallon
Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be, because the cost of blood mainly depends on the blood type. In fact there are a few blood types which are super rare, making them quite expensive. And let’s not forget you can’t just keep blood in some plain glass jar. The cost of processing is the real culprit here.
2. Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) – $2,500/gallon
Human body secretes a lot of yucky liquids, but this GHB, which can be found in our nervous system, is also sold on the streets as an illegal drug, and goes by the name “liquid ecstasy”. So yeah, you’re doing ecstasy right freaking now (or not, I don’t know how GHB works).
3. Black Printer Ink – $2,700/gallon
Okay there’s a whole global conspiracy here! To make money, these ink companies sell their printers at a low price, and earn back their money whenever the consumers want to charge the cartridges, which is like once every 500 pages. For some reason, black ink, in particular, costs a lot more than other colors.
4. Mercury – $3,400/gallon
“But Mercury is a metal. Shouldn’t all metals be technically considered liquid then?” – I can hear you say. And you are right, but Mercury is the only metal to be in liquid form at room temperature. People used it in medicine, but then after a few thousand deaths we’ve figured out that it’s not very good for us.
5. Insulin -$9,400-$100,000/gallon
Insulin is a hormone naturally produced by our pancreases, so why is it so expensive? Thing is, people suffering from diabetes often can’t produce enough insulin, that’s where our old friend “chemistry” comes in. The synthetic insulin is much cheaper (still hella expensive) than its natural brother, that’s why there’s this huge price gap. Well, that and cash-grabbing pharmacies.
6. Chanel No. 5 – $26,000/gallon
It’s the year 1922, Coco Chanel and a chemist Ernest Beaux are about to make history, by creating the world’s most expensive perfume – Chanel No. 5.
7. Horseshoe crab blood – $60,000/gallon
Over 50 years ago scientists discovered that this creature’s unique blue blood is perfect for determining whether a medical product is contaminated or not. Of course, nobody cares about the Horseshoe Crabs. Humans are way more important, right?
8. LSD – $123,000/gallon
I know what LSD is. You know what LSD is. We all know what it does, and that the 60’s and 70’s were basically the most drug-infused decades in human history, with all the hippies running around.
9. King Cobra Venom – $153,000/gallon
The King Cobra is one of the most poisonous snakes on earth. And if TV has taught you anything about the process of making anti-venom, you know that first we need the venom to create the antidote.
10. Scorpion venom – $39,000,000/gallon
Similar to the King cobra, scorpion venom is used to remedy otherwise deadly scorpion stings, but its unique compound also serves several other medicinal purposes, like treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
