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Join us as we explore captivating treasure hunts from across history, including ancient scrolls hinting at hidden riches, the recent discovery of the fabled El Dorado by fishermen, and an astonishing find of a rare treasure stone inside a pig. Discover the thrill of the hunt and the surprising places where fortune can be uncovered!
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00:00If you come across a well in Portugal, resist the temptation to gaze into its depths.
00:06The inverted tower in the enigmatic city of Sintra sends chills through those who encounter it
00:12as it spirals down a daunting 88 feet into the underground.
00:17It certainly wasn't designed to collect water, yet its true purpose remains a closely guarded secret.
00:23Dating back to around 1904, this well could have been involved in a mysterious initiation tradition from the Knights Templar.
00:32The Templars had faded into history almost six centuries before the construction of this pit,
00:37but their enigmatic traditions were revived by later generations.
00:41So one theory says that candidates seeking to join the group back then
00:46had to confront their deepest fears by facing this well,
00:50descending its spiral staircase blindfolded.
00:53When they reached the bottom of the inverted tower,
00:56they removed their blindfolds and were faced with this frightening sight.
01:00The only way out of this dark labyrinth was to keep looking up and following the light.
01:07Now, imagine yourself browsing the shelves of a used bookstore
01:11until you find a book with an alphabet you've never seen before.
01:15You decide to use an image translation app, but find no matches.
01:20Intrigued, you buy the book.
01:22Then you show it to your friends and family, but nobody recognizes that alphabet.
01:27Rare book dealer Winfred Vonig probably experienced the same frustration back in 1912,
01:33when he acquired what would later become the most enigmatic book in the world.
01:39The work is known today as the Voynich Manuscript,
01:43and it's written entirely in an unknown language that no one has deciphered yet.
01:48The pages of this 15th-century codex are filled with botanical drawings.
01:53But these aren't typical daisies or roses.
01:56In fact, they don't resemble any plant species that we know of.
02:00What makes things even stranger is the illustrations of unfamiliar constellations
02:05and women swimming in green baths.
02:11Delving deeper into the realm of mysterious texts,
02:14we set off on a journey to the Qumran Caves near the Salt Sea in the Middle East.
02:19In 1952, a team of archaeologists stumbled upon two scrolls made of highly oxidized copper at the site.
02:28Unrolling them was a major challenge, so they decided to cut the scrolls into 23 parts to investigate them.
02:35Imagine their surprise to see Hebrew words like gold and silver popping up.
02:40But no, it wasn't an ancient invoice.
02:43It was more like a treasure map, pointing the way to over a million dollars.
02:48Unfortunately, the treasure was never found.
02:51Not for lack of trying, though.
02:53You see, the quest isn't as easy as it may appear.
02:56Some of the copper scrolls' vocabulary is technical,
02:59and some geographical locations remain a mystery.
03:02There's also one last possibility.
03:05Perhaps it's all a work of fiction, like a pirate tale from the old days.
03:13People talk about Mona Lisa's almost haunting stare
03:16that seems to follow you no matter where you stand.
03:20But here's a quick question.
03:22Does she have eyebrows?
03:23You got it right if you said no.
03:26And her complete lack of eyebrows adds another layer of mystique to her gaze.
03:31The most common explanation is that beauty standards were different,
03:35and perhaps plucking the hairs above the eyes was a thing around 1503.
03:40But take a look at other Italian paintings from that time,
03:44like La Schiavona or Portrait of a Young Girl.
03:47Yep, eyebrows.
03:48So, not everyone was entirely pleased with this theory,
03:52like French inventor Pascal Cote.
03:55He spent 3,000 hours analyzing scans of the painting
03:59to dig through all the layers of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece.
04:03Now, he claims that the Mona Lisa once had eyebrows,
04:07but they disappeared over time due to cleanings and restorations.
04:10Some historians, however, still question his findings.
04:14Which means that Mona Lisa's style, or lack of it, remains an unsolved mystery.
04:22So, you decide to travel to Rio de Janeiro,
04:26and everyone tells you that Sugarloaf Mountain is a must-see.
04:30When you spot the mountain from a distance,
04:32you realize that the stone has a cavity.
04:35But around noon, the whole view changes.
04:38The shadow in that cavity takes the shape of a bird,
04:41an ibis to be precise.
04:43A local legend links this bird shape to the ancient Egyptian deity Thoth,
04:48as if the ancient Egyptians once visited Rio de Janeiro
04:51and were somehow inspired by the natural phenomenon.
04:55But it's probably just a big coincidence.
04:57I mean, literally.
04:58The real mystery, however, lies in the waters around Sugarloaf Mountain.
05:04In the 80s, archaeologist Robert Marks got a tip from locals
05:08about a treasure hidden beneath Guanabara Bay.
05:11He dove in and found quite a few Roman amphorae.
05:15You know, those ancient vases with two handles?
05:18His discovery could potentially provide evidence of a Roman shipwreck
05:23that might have reached Brazil 17 centuries before the Portuguese even set foot there.
05:29However, he couldn't proceed with his research.
05:31And to this day, the idea of the Roman presence on Brazil's post remains uncertain.
05:40The true location of Cleopatra's tomb isn't the only ancient Egyptian mystery.
05:46Many secrets are carved into the walls of ancient structures,
05:49like in the Temple of Seti I.
05:51Take a close look at this hieroglyph,
05:54and you'll notice that it resembles a modern-day helicopter.
05:58Look to the right, and you'll see an engraving that looks like a submarine.
06:02Odd, right?
06:03The most reasonable explanation for this has to do with the legacies of different rulers.
06:09When a new pharaoh came to power,
06:11they had their own hieroglyphs added over the original ones.
06:15But this is still a topic of debate,
06:17as some Egyptologists believe that these mysterious hieroglyphs
06:21may represent some kind of ancient technology.
06:25The same applies to the Dendera light.
06:28The image, found in the underground passageway of the Hathor Temple,
06:32is a subject of significant controversy in Egyptian history.
06:36Some researchers suggest that the inscription simply represents a rising sun,
06:42while others interpret it as evidence of some kind of modern lighting system.
06:47And it does indeed resemble Krupp's tube,
06:50one of the early experiments with electrical discharges.
06:53Although there's no concrete evidence of ancient Egyptians having modern electricity,
06:58some historians believe that this theory could help explain
07:02why many discovered tombs don't have any residues left behind
07:06from the use of oil lamps or candles.
07:11A lot has been said about the mysterious pyramids of Egypt.
07:15But many people tend to forget that other inexplicable structures
07:19had already existed even before them.
07:21Our next stop takes us to Turkey.
07:24The top of a hill known as Gobekli Tepe,
07:27near the city of Urfa,
07:28holds an ancient secret.
07:30It features more than 20 circular stone enclosures
07:34dated back over 11,000 years.
07:37Many of these have heavily carved stone T-shaped pillars
07:40adorned with eerie human figures with folded hands.
07:45The most accepted theory is that it's the world's first temple,
07:49likely used for rituals or social events.
07:51But the greatest mystery lies in how it was built,
07:55as this site existed before the domestication of animals
07:58or the use of metal tools.
08:00So the construction must have been very difficult,
08:03challenging our understanding of the historical timeline.
08:09Now, I hope you're not afraid of heights,
08:11because we're about to take a flight over the Nazca lines.
08:15You've probably already heard about these massive,
08:18mysterious drawings etched into an arid region of Peru.
08:21They come in many different shapes,
08:24like a spider, a monkey,
08:25and even a googly-eyed ET that is probably just a fissure.
08:30Anyway, this story got some fresh chapters in 2022,
08:34when an additional one, 168 new drawings, were discovered.
08:38The original ones could only be seen from the air,
08:41but these new ones are much smaller
08:43and can be observed from the ground.
08:46However, one thing they have in common
08:48is that their purpose remains totally unclear.
08:52Some might call them the largest-scale calendar in the world.
08:55Others suggest that they served as a tool for agricultural purposes.
08:59Of course, many theories have emerged in an attempt
09:03to give the Nazca lines a meaning.
09:05But the truth is that they remain
09:07some of the most important unsolved mysteries in history.
09:11Do you remember 2011?
09:13Well, play along with me.
09:14A diver is set to go deep into the waters of the Musi River,
09:18located in the heart of an Indonesian island.
09:21He is one among many who have been getting
09:23unbelievable artifacts from the bottom of the river.
09:26Little by little, divers and fishers
09:29discover a long-lost Sumatrian civilization.
09:32Known as the Island of Gold,
09:34the Kingdom of Srivijaya
09:36was most likely the closest to a real-life El Dorado
09:39there has ever been.
09:41However, it disappeared late in the 13th century,
09:44and until recently,
09:46researchers didn't even know
09:47the exact location of the kingdom.
09:49Picture a civilization built on a river,
09:53a true water world,
09:54according to the archaeologists
09:56that have been studying Srivijaya.
09:58Houses, markets, and places of worship
10:00were built on wooden piles
10:02above the level of the water.
10:04Citizens moved around like modern-day Venetians
10:07in simple boats.
10:09Srivijaya was known to be a rich and important kingdom.
10:12It existed from the 7th to the 11th century CE.
10:15It was part of the Silk Road,
10:17and anyone traveling from east to west
10:19had to pass through the city.
10:21Their kings were smart
10:23and gained control of the Malacca Strait,
10:25which allowed the town to have total control
10:27over trading routes in the region.
10:29If anything,
10:30they sure were honoring the town's name.
10:33Srivijaya translates from Sanskrit
10:35into prosperous victor,
10:37or simply glorious.
10:39The kingdom was an important commercial outpost
10:42of ancient times.
10:43It was strategically located
10:45among the most influential commercial routes
10:47of the ancient world,
10:48which means its citizens became extremely rich.
10:52Ancient wealthy societies
10:54used to overly display their gold
10:56and precious metals.
10:57They would often use these metals
10:59as offerings to their deities,
11:00or they would use them to forge large statues
11:04and to make jewelry for kings and queens
11:06and decorations for their palaces.
11:09Srivijaya wasn't different.
11:11Local Indonesian divers,
11:12who have been exploring the half-mile
11:15of the Musi River
11:16near the city of Palembang,
11:18have found some evidence.
11:19So far,
11:20they've discovered a life-size statue of Buddha,
11:23jewelry studied with precious gems,
11:26temple bells,
11:26mirrors,
11:27golden jugs,
11:28and other items.
11:29No official archaeological excavations
11:32have been done in the area,
11:33so these artifacts
11:35are the first items
11:36of the Srivijayan Empire
11:38ever found.
11:39Sean Kinslet,
11:40a British maritime archaeologist
11:42who has reported
11:43on these discoveries,
11:44says he is truly surprised.
11:47For long,
11:48people have been speculating
11:49about the true wealth
11:50of Srivijaya,
11:51and it seems that the rumors
11:53have been confirmed.
11:54We're starting from ground zero,
11:56he says.
11:57We don't know
11:57what clothes the people
11:59of Srivijaya wore,
12:00what their tastes were,
12:01what kinds of ceramics
12:02they like to eat off.
12:03Even though this discovery
12:06has brought excitement
12:06to the scientific community,
12:08there is a downside.
12:10Divers and fishers
12:11sell the retrieved artifacts
12:12at the International Antiquities Market
12:15before archaeologists
12:16can take a look at them.
12:18Researchers could try
12:19to buy some items,
12:20but they're sold
12:21for millions of dollars worldwide.
12:23Most of the information
12:25we know about this
12:26El Dorado of the East
12:27was learned from
12:28merchant accounts of the city.
12:30These descriptions say
12:31Srivijaya was a kingdom
12:33of human-eating snakes
12:35and multilingual parrots.
12:37That's weird.
12:38Some say its active volcanoes
12:40gave the town
12:41an eerie and enigmatic sign,
12:43and all stories emphasize
12:45the amount of gold
12:46available there.
12:47Travel reports
12:48were a common way
12:49to describe cities
12:50in ancient times.
12:52In case you didn't know,
12:53this is how the legend
12:54of El Dorado
12:55originally began.
12:56As European explorers
12:58began their excavations
12:59in South American lands
13:01back in the 1500s,
13:02The word got out
13:04that an Amazonian civilization
13:05used to paint their leader
13:07in gold
13:08as an offering
13:09to higher powers.
13:10The legend of
13:11El Hombre Dorado,
13:12also known as
13:13The Golden Man,
13:14began to quickly spread
13:15around Europe.
13:16It turned out
13:17that it was only
13:18a ceremonial piece
13:19of pre-Columbian civilization.
13:21It had nothing to do
13:23with the land
13:24of infinite gold.
13:25Now,
13:26no one knows
13:26what brought about
13:27the decline
13:28of the Srivijaya Empire.
13:29Some speculate
13:31that its active volcanoes
13:32could have swallowed it.
13:33Or maybe wooden houses
13:35built above the river
13:36eventually sank.
13:37Maybe if divers
13:39keep retrieving lost items
13:40from the bottom
13:41of the river,
13:42archaeologists will be able
13:43to figure out
13:44what happened
13:45to the city.
13:46It seems to be
13:47quite common
13:47in the history
13:48of the world.
13:49Some ancient civilizations
13:50disappeared without a trace,
13:53as happened
13:53with the Mayan civilization,
13:55for example.
13:55The Mayans
13:57managed to build
13:57one of the biggest empires
13:59in pre-Columbian America.
14:00It was believed
14:01to be home
14:02to over 2 million people,
14:04and it thrived
14:05for over 6 centuries.
14:06Its sudden demise
14:08is something
14:08that bothers archaeologists
14:10and scientists alike.
14:11The Mayans
14:12began to settle
14:13in South America
14:14as early as 1500 BCE.
14:17Their civilization
14:18spanned Mexico's
14:19Yucatan Peninsula,
14:20Guatemala,
14:21and Belize.
14:22They are believed
14:23to have built
14:23around 40 cities
14:25at the height
14:25of their empire.
14:26They also developed
14:27a complex hieroglyph system
14:29that has been studied
14:30since it was discovered
14:31by modern scientists.
14:33The Mayans
14:33were keen engineers,
14:35astronomers,
14:36and farmers.
14:37They were post-nomadic people
14:39that settled
14:39in vast areas
14:40of farmland
14:41where they could grow corn
14:42and other types
14:43of vegetables.
14:45Archaeologists
14:45are still learning
14:46a lot about
14:47the Mayan civilization
14:48by examining
14:49their ruins.
14:50The city of Chichen Itza,
14:52located in the Yucatan Peninsula,
14:53is one of the most important
14:55Mayan sites
14:56unearthed today.
14:57The site is made up
14:59of a total
14:59of 26 ruins,
15:01and it is home
15:02to a world-famous pyramid
15:03known as El Castillo.
15:05It consists of a series
15:07of square terraces
15:08with stairways
15:09on each of the four sides
15:10of the temple.
15:11It was built
15:12as an homage
15:13to a feathered serpent deity.
15:15The Mayans
15:16were such architectural geniuses
15:18that they managed
15:19to build a pyramid
15:20that cast
15:20a particular shadow.
15:22More specifically,
15:23in the late afternoon
15:24during the spring
15:25and fall equinoxes,
15:27the pyramid
15:28cast several
15:28triangular shadows
15:29that create
15:30the illusion
15:31of a feathered serpent
15:32crawling down
15:33the pyramid.
15:34And they created this
15:35with none of the tech
15:36we have today.
15:37The city is so amazing
15:39that since 2007,
15:41it has been considered
15:42one of the seven wonders
15:43of the new world.
15:45The Mayan Empire
15:46thrived for over
15:47six centuries
15:48due to their
15:49wise resource management system
15:50and astronomical knowledge.
15:52They were able
15:53to accurately predict
15:54eclipses
15:55and using their
15:56rudimentary technology
15:58could even locate
15:59Venus and Mars.
16:00They had everything
16:02to thrive
16:02for much longer
16:03than they actually did.
16:05This is why
16:06the Mayans' fall
16:07intrigues
16:08modern scientists
16:08so much.
16:09No one has been able
16:11to understand completely
16:12what led to their demise.
16:14That is,
16:15until a recent discovery.
16:16A study done by NASA
16:18claims it can explain
16:20what might have happened.
16:21Scientists have uncovered
16:23a sample of pollen
16:24trapped for over
16:251,200 years
16:26in ancient layers
16:27of lake sediment,
16:28which dates back
16:29to the time
16:30just before
16:31the collapse
16:31of the civilization.
16:33The analysis
16:34has revealed
16:34something completely new
16:36about the Mayans.
16:37Instead of the suspected
16:38claims that the Mayans
16:40disappeared due
16:41to terrible disease
16:42or some extended
16:43conflict in the region,
16:44it could have happened
16:45due to deforestation.
16:47Perhaps to build
16:48their entire empire,
16:50they had to cut
16:51a lot of trees.
16:52Without trees,
16:53their soil could have
16:54eroded,
16:54and all their fertile lands
16:56could have slowly
16:57and gradually
16:58become barren.
16:59According to NASA scientists,
17:01the temperatures
17:02in the region
17:02could have risen
17:03by about 6 degrees.
17:04And from that point on,
17:06the land would have
17:07become even drier
17:08and crops
17:09more difficult to grow.
17:11Basically,
17:12NASA says
17:13that the Mayans
17:14couldn't do the sole thing
17:15that made them thrive,
17:16which was agriculture.
17:18And their kingdom
17:19began to decline.
17:20Oh yeah,
17:21and this theory
17:22was supported
17:23by yet another find.
17:25Archaeologists
17:25found skeletons
17:26from the time
17:27of the empire.
17:28Those had prominent
17:29signs of malnutrition.
17:31This theory
17:32might really shed
17:33new light
17:33on Mayan history.
17:35So,
17:35if you still
17:36haven't made your fortune,
17:37don't be too sad.
17:39There are huge amounts
17:40of money out there
17:41longing to be discovered.
17:42Look at this
17:43humble Chinese villager.
17:45At 51 years old,
17:47he accidentally
17:47made 4 million won,
17:49which is over
17:50$600,000
17:51without doing
17:52anything special.
17:53The thing is,
17:54he and his son
17:55just found it
17:56in a pig
17:57while doing
17:57their basic chores
17:58they would do
17:59every single day.
18:00The stone
18:01they found
18:01inside the pig
18:02is called
18:03Bezor,
18:04and I bet
18:04you've never
18:05heard of it before.
18:06It's not common
18:06in the West,
18:07but it's a big deal
18:08in traditional
18:09Chinese medicine.
18:10If you look
18:11at this stone,
18:12you may think
18:12it's ew.
18:13This 4-inch long,
18:152.7-inch wide
18:16treasure is hairy
18:18and looks a bit gross
18:19at first glance,
18:20and it doesn't get better.
18:22After discovering
18:23the stone,
18:23the father and the son
18:24took it to Shanghai
18:25for an appraisal,
18:26and it cost them
18:27around $6,000.
18:29But still,
18:30the initial expenses
18:31don't seem so big,
18:33considering they're
18:34a mere 1%
18:35of what that stone
18:36is worth.
18:37Now,
18:37not everything
18:38in an animal's belly
18:39is going to make you rich.
18:40Only the gallbladder
18:42stuff is real gold.
18:44I know that women
18:45can buy themselves
18:46flowers and write
18:47their names in the sand,
18:48but let's face it,
18:49women just love it
18:50when we offer them
18:51fancy bouquets.
18:53Still,
18:53today,
18:54it's much easier to do
18:55than it was
18:55in the 17th century.
18:57Back then,
18:58an average Joe
18:59would have to
18:59slave his way
19:00to afford
19:01just one flower.
19:03Somewhere around
19:03the 1630s,
19:05there was a tulip mania,
19:07where tulip bulbs
19:08cost more than gold.
19:09Okay,
19:10the price wasn't real.
19:11It was a speculative bubble
19:12way before all the other
19:14economic drama
19:15we see today.
19:16We just haven't learned
19:17our lesson yet.
19:18Back at that time,
19:20a single tulip bulb
19:21was sold for more than
19:22what a skilled artisan
19:24made in an entire year.
19:25And it wasn't just
19:26any tulip bulb.
19:28We're talking about
19:29bulbs with fancy colors
19:30and patterns
19:31that were rare
19:32and sought after.
19:33The tulip market
19:34was like the stock market
19:35at the time,
19:36with traders making deals
19:37in taverns
19:38and signing contracts
19:39with each other.
19:40It was all about
19:41supply and demand.
19:43And just like
19:44with any bubble,
19:45prices eventually crashed
19:46in February 1637,
19:49leaving everyone
19:50with empty pockets,
19:51scratching their heads,
19:52and feeling ill.
19:55Meanwhile,
19:56speaking of feeling
19:57under the weather,
19:58back in 15th century Europe,
20:00people turned to
20:01Egyptian mummies
20:02for relief from headaches,
20:04stomach issues,
20:04and even more
20:05serious conditions
20:06modern medicine
20:07still can't beat today.
20:09Embalmed bodies
20:10were thought to have
20:11some magical healing powers.
20:13But why did folks
20:14eat mummies
20:15in the first place?
20:16Well,
20:17it all started
20:17with a mix-up
20:18in translations.
20:19There was a substance
20:20called mummia
20:21that was considered
20:22super valuable
20:23for its healing properties.
20:25But when Western Europeans
20:26got wind of it
20:27through letters
20:28from other nations,
20:29they mistakenly thought
20:30it came from
20:31Egyptian mummies.
20:32This led to a whole fashion
20:34of medical mummy eating.
20:36People believed
20:37that consuming parts
20:38of mummies
20:38could cure
20:39all sorts of ailments.
20:40So they started
20:41raiding Egyptian tombs
20:43and selling mummies
20:44like hotcakes.
20:45Demand was so high
20:46that some shady characters
20:48even started making
20:49fake mummies
20:50out of...
20:51Trust me,
20:51you don't want to know it.
20:52I'll leave it
20:53to your imagination.
20:54But you can write
20:55your ideas in the comments.
20:57Fast forward
20:58to the Victorian era
20:59and the enthusiasm
21:00with mummies
21:01was at an all-time high.
21:03Egyptomania
21:03was in full swing
21:05with mummy unwrapping parties
21:07becoming a popular pastime.
21:08It wasn't until
21:09the late 19th century
21:11that the use of mummia
21:12finally fizzled out.
21:15One day,
21:16a dead sperm whale
21:17washed up on a beach
21:18in La Palma, Spain
21:19and a professor
21:20was sent on a mission
21:21to crack the case
21:22of the animal's demise.
21:24Amidst crashing waves
21:26and the massive carcass,
21:27he stumbled upon
21:28a surprising revelation.
21:30A hefty 21-pound stone
21:32stuck at its intestines.
21:34But this was
21:35no ordinary rhyme.
21:37Valued at 500,000 euros,
21:39which is over $545,000,
21:42it turned out to be
21:43ambergris,
21:44also known as
21:45floating gold.
21:46Legend has it
21:47that this funky substance
21:49can be found
21:50floating in the sea
21:51or rarely washed up
21:52on beaches.
21:53It was discovered
21:54in the 1800s.
21:55It's actually formed
21:56from the indigestible bits
21:58sperm whales gobble up
22:00while feasting on squid,
22:01like their beaks.
22:03Over time,
22:04perhaps years,
22:05these bits
22:06clump together
22:06in their intestines,
22:07almost like a kidney stone,
22:09to create this valuable
22:10lump of ambergris.
22:12Now,
22:12you may ask yourself
22:13why a sperm whale's
22:14excretion
22:15costs way,
22:16way more than your house.
22:18But the answer is simple.
22:19It just smells good.
22:21Okay,
22:21it's not good.
22:22It smells divine.
22:24The aroma ranges
22:25from sweet to musky tones,
22:27and perfume makers
22:28go bananas for this stuff
22:29as it helps fragrances
22:30last longer.
22:32The more a substance
22:33called amber
22:34in it contains,
22:35the pricier it gets.
22:36And the color matters too.
22:38Black means less amber
22:39while white packs a punch.
22:41Cheaper options
22:42opt for synthetic alternatives,
22:44but top-notch perfumes
22:46go for the real deal.
22:47While using ambergris
22:49in perfumes
22:49is a no-go in the US,
22:51the French still adore
22:52this magical ingredient.
22:54By the way,
22:55over $500,000
22:56is not a limit here.
22:58Some lucky fishers
22:59once scored
23:00a chunk of ambergris
23:01worth $1.5 million
23:03in the Gulf of Aden.
23:05Those sperm whales
23:06sure have some
23:07fancy intestines, huh?
23:10Now, next time you go
23:12grocery shopping,
23:13do not complain
23:14about prices, okay?
23:15At least you can
23:16easily afford
23:17any spice out there.
23:18Your great-great,
23:19many times,
23:21great-grandfather
23:21somewhere in the Middle Ages
23:23wouldn't believe you
23:24that cinnamon
23:24and black pepper
23:25can be that affordable.
23:27Spices were worth
23:28their weight in gold
23:29and gems,
23:30driving the economy
23:31like nobody's business.
23:33Back in the day,
23:34food went bad
23:35faster than milk
23:36in the sun,
23:36so spices were
23:37a hot commodity
23:38to cover up
23:39that not-so-fresh flavor.
23:41European nations
23:42wanted to control
23:43the spice trade,
23:44which led to crazy
23:45expeditions to India
23:46and other Asian lands.
23:48The Portuguese,
23:49Dutch,
23:49French,
23:50Spanish,
23:50and English
23:51were all fighting
23:52for spice domination,
23:54setting up shop
23:55and making a mint
23:56along the way.
23:57Now,
23:58on to the exact prices.
23:59Back in 1393,
24:01saffron was as pricey
24:03as a horse,
24:04ginger as much
24:05as a sheep,
24:05and mace
24:06as costly as a cow.
24:08And a pound of nutmeg
24:09was worth
24:10seven fat oxen
24:11in medieval Germany.
24:12That black pepper
24:14that we take for granted
24:15today wasn't just
24:16for seasoning.
24:17Peppercorns
24:17were actually used
24:18as currency in Europe.
24:20Towns kept their books
24:21in pepper,
24:22brides got pepper
24:23as part of their dowry,
24:24and some landlords
24:25even accepted
24:26peppercorn rent.
24:28Um,
24:29may I cover
24:29my utility bills
24:30this month
24:31with this fancy
24:32packet of cinnamon,
24:33sir?
24:33No?
24:34What?
24:35You think I should
24:35go out and get
24:36an actual job?
24:37Okay.
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