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This video series explores the various facets of money, from identifying fake currency to the evolving trends of spending in the digital age.
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00:00Ah, money. Or should I say cash? Dough? Bankroll? Whichever word you choose to call it, we all know what
00:07you're talking about.
00:08We're talking about De Niro, bills, bread, bucks, cash. That thing that makes the world go round.
00:14But where does money come from? Who invented it? And was it always green?
00:19Well, let's take a look at the history of money and see what we can find.
00:23Before we begin, we need to establish something.
00:27Money is a currency we use to exchange value for goods or services in our modern-day society.
00:33For most of us, it's a number written on our bank apps.
00:36But it wasn't always like that, of course.
00:38Before we created money and gave it a standard value, we used to barter.
00:43I'm talking about ancient civilizations over 8,000 years ago.
00:48These people used to trade directly amongst themselves, using things they had in excess.
00:53Now, imagine you were a sheep farmer, and your production of wool this season was more than enough for you
00:59and your entire family.
01:00So you're left with a surplus of your product.
01:03But you didn't grow any potatoes, and you need some for your daily soup.
01:07Thankfully, your neighbor John did grow some potatoes, and he needs some wool to weave his winter clothes.
01:13You exchange goods or barter, and everyone's happy.
01:17But let's say the timing is off, and John's crop came in early one year, before your sheep were fluffy
01:23enough to give wool.
01:25Then what?
01:26If only there was some type of technology that could mediate this exchange.
01:31Well, ancient civilizations, such as the Mesopotamians, noticed that this kind of problem happened more often than not.
01:38So they started a type of bookkeeping that evolved to what we today know as accountancy.
01:45This way, official authorities would keep records of who owed who and how much.
01:50At first, they recorded things such as wheat, wool, and livestock.
01:54Like on this lovely carved piece of rock that served as a receipt for an oxen exchange.
02:00With time, Mesopotamians started recording all their debts in standardized units of account.
02:06And believe it or not, the first standardized units of account were shekels of grain and cowrie shells.
02:13Bookkeeping also allowed early civilizations to create a kind of system where someone could store value and cash in whenever
02:20they wanted to.
02:21Footnote, we invented writing just so that we could keep track of these commercial exchanges.
02:26And just like that, money was born.
02:29But at that time, it still hadn't reached the form of a coin.
02:33Rather, it was an accountant's word on how much value someone had saved up and what they could exchange it
02:40for.
02:40I mean, that's probably not the most trustworthy of methods.
02:44So problem solvers invented a physical way of keeping track of value.
02:48Coins.
02:49So humans created a way to control their exchanges.
02:53You could buy a cow using your bag of coins.
02:56The value of how much you owed was related to the weight of the coin itself.
03:00This was the beginning of the coinage system.
03:03But later on, we started to assign different values to different coins.
03:07So a gold coin was worth more than a silver or a copper coin.
03:11Neat, huh?
03:12By this time in history, around 400 BCE, cities were growing larger and larger, and trade was done at an
03:19international level.
03:21But different countries assigned different values to each coin.
03:24Silver was not worth the same thing in Italy and Turkey.
03:28So new problems arose.
03:30There needed to be a standardized exchange rate.
03:32For a few centuries, we made the coinage system work.
03:36But soon enough, humans started to make counterfeit coins, mixing precious metals with other cheaper materials.
03:42That's why some civilizations started transitioning to paper.
03:46And thanks to globalization, this trend spread across the globe.
03:50And by globalization, I mean trade.
03:53Trade was a way to get merchants from one side of the world, Europe, to the other side of it,
03:58which at that time was Asia.
04:00Traders and explorers like Marco Polo, who kept coming and going, discovered that some Asian countries were using paper as
04:08an exchange currency.
04:09And they helped to introduce it in Europe.
04:12By the 17th century CE, the first European banks issued paper money, and the fashion caught on.
04:19Now, you know the saying, money doesn't grow on trees?
04:22That's because someone needs to be in charge of how much money is going to circulate.
04:27And who decides that?
04:29And based on what?
04:30That role was assigned to government.
04:32They decided that individuals like you and I can't print money from the comfort of our own home.
04:38So we needed a centralized system to do that for us.
04:41In the U.S., it's the Federal Reserve System, nicknamed the Fed.
04:45When it was first created back in 1914, it used the so-called gold standard to know how much money
04:52it could print.
04:53The gold standard is still used by many countries in the world today.
04:57It's a reference system.
04:58In the early days, before centralized banks, the amount of wealth a person had was attached to how many cows
05:05they owned.
05:06Moo.
05:06With time, this standard switched to gold.
05:09So, the amount of money a country had, for example, was attached to the amount of gold they had in
05:15reserves.
05:16So, why doesn't the Fed just print out a bunch of $100 bills and make everyone rich and happy?
05:22Well, because if they did that, the paper money would lose all its value.
05:26This is a process known as inflation, where it takes more to buy less.
05:31Did you ever see pictures of people walking around with plastic bags full of money to buy their morning bread?
05:37Instead, this is what happens when inflation is out of control.
05:40The prices of things soar by the minute, and you need more money to buy the same things.
05:46So, paper money is pretty convenient in daily exchanges to pay for a short cab ride or buy some sweets.
05:53But that's not the case when the amount you need to pay is bigger.
05:57Back in the 1950s and 60s, technology helped us turn paper money into plastic.
06:03And so, credit cards were invented by banks, allowing them to take a small part of the exchange for themselves.
06:10So today, if you want to buy a shirt or some other stuff, you can just do it online using
06:14your card number or even your phone.
06:17But it wasn't like that when credit cards first started to be used.
06:20If you wanted to purchase anything, the cashier needed to call your bank and someone would manually check if you
06:27had enough funds.
06:28But imagine having to manually check over 300 million transactions a year.
06:34Impossible, huh?
06:36Well, thankfully for us, advancement in technology accompanied the growth of the financial system.
06:41So, they started to use IT to do the fun checking for us.
06:45Today, they use large mainframe computers to manage all card transactions.
06:50Their technology is so advanced that they're programmed to understand everyone's personal consumer behavior.
06:55This way, they can block your card if they suspect a purchase wasn't made by you.
07:01Neat. Thanks, computers.
07:03Now, all of the money circulating in the world is estimated to total around $400 trillion.
07:10This number grows to $1.3 quadrillion if we take into consideration investments and digital currencies, which some are calling
07:17the future of money.
07:19We've talked about how IT revolutionized the finance system.
07:22Well, today, we have the so-called cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin.
07:27Now, keep in mind that not all cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin.
07:31Bitcoin was just the first one to be created back in 2009 by an anonymous computer programmer or a group
07:38of programmers known as Shatoshi Nakamoto.
07:41There are other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Tether.
07:44But Bitcoin alone is reportedly moving around $370 billion.
07:50So, what is a cryptocurrency and why is everyone talking about it?
07:54Well, crypto got popular with certain folks because it's like a people-oriented currency.
08:00By that, I mean that it goes around traditional banking systems.
08:03Those who take care of it are those who use it.
08:06The values are not stored in a physical vault, say, but in computer-run clouds.
08:12It's also not issued by a central bank like dollars are.
08:16And there is nothing like a gold standard that underlies its value.
08:20They're created by a process called mining.
08:22It's basically a bunch of computer software solving really difficult math problems.
08:27The first computer to solve the problem wins the race and creates a Bitcoin.
08:31But its value is a matter of trust between the users rather than based on a standard like gold.
08:38So, if you think it sounds rather complicated, it is.
08:42And like any other innovations before, like the early coins and credit cards,
08:46it's going to take time before it proves itself to be something acceptable to the majority of us.
08:52So, whether you call it benjamins, dough, ducats, funds, gelt, greenbacks, lucre, moolah, quid, sawbucks, shekels, or simoleons,
09:01money, money, money, thank you Abba, does indeed make the world go round.
09:08Ever shop till you dropped so much, you wished you had a couple of extra hands?
09:13The next time you set on a supermarket adventure, make sure to take a carabiner with you.
09:18This little guy will compensate for the lack of extra hands,
09:22so you'll carry everything you bought on that Black Friday sale with the two of your default hands.
09:27Just put all those plastic bags on a carabiner.
09:30To upgrade your experience, I strongly suggest you make a fabric grip.
09:36Any keen athletes here? This one's for you.
09:39If your pockets have no zippers or buttons and you don't want to lose keys,
09:43lose change, or whatever else you keep in your pockets while running, you need a rubber band.
09:48Just tie the pocket up from the inside like this Redditor did.
09:52Also, it's a nice remedy for pickpocketing and lost paranoia.
09:57One more workout trick here.
09:59Sometimes, socks have inside seams which can give you blisters while running.
10:03No need to get rid of these socks and buy new ones.
10:07Just wear the ones you have inside out.
10:09This Redditor is a genius.
10:11Oh yeah.
10:13In case you ever doubt if a $100 bill you're holding is real,
10:17you can use this magic trick.
10:20You see this blue authenticity line?
10:22It looks like it's woven inside the paper.
10:25Now, fold the bill in such a way that this blue line is in front of you
10:29and the paper is slightly bent backward.
10:32Grab a needle and try to insert it right under the flap that you see.
10:36If the bill is real, you'll see that there's actually a slit in your bill.
10:41Thing is, fake printed money can't normally have this feature
10:45as in most cases they simply don't have the multiple layers to allow for this.
10:51The wet traces of plunger leaves on the floor are sort of gross,
10:55even if you rinsed it thoroughly.
10:57So next time it comes to your rescue, make sure to dry it afterward.
11:00The best way to do that is to rest it under the seat to dry.
11:05Ever seen these traps on shopping carts?
11:08You can repurpose them to keep your drink safe.
11:10Yeah, that's a bit barbarian.
11:12I wish there were special holders for that in each and every cart.
11:17For those who like to sleep in airport lounges, this one is a lifesaver.
11:22To protect your valuable hand luggage, just loop your bag through your foot.
11:26Yes, strapping it onto your leg or arm seems more effective,
11:29but it's not that all the bags have such a feature.
11:33You can use this life hack in other crowded places too.
11:37This Redditor does this trick in bars and it seems to work just fine.
11:41Oh really?
11:42There's also a trick on how to sift the flower in the fastest way possible.
11:47Surprisingly, you'll need a massage device for that.
11:50Look how fast you can do that and no more shaking.
11:54A piece of an eraser can help you control your automated car windows better.
11:59This Redditor's dog was quite excited each time it got arrived,
12:03so it would accidentally push the window switch with a paw.
12:06The Redditor just put a well-fitted piece of eraser into that dimple and the problem was solved.
12:13Picture this.
12:15You have a sore throat.
12:16You consult a doctor and they prescribe you a throat spray that works wonders.
12:21There's only one downside to this.
12:23You just can't stand the taste.
12:25It's not a big deal and a cotton swab can help you with that.
12:30Just apply the throat spray directly to the throat to avoid all the taste buds on your tongue.
12:36Not all people are big fans of plain black coffee.
12:39If you accidentally run out of milk or creamer, there's a life hack.
12:43Just add some ice cream to your drink instead.
12:46It will soften up the original coffee taste.
12:50Some candles tend to melt a hole into themselves.
12:54The more you burn it, the bigger this hole gets.
12:56And in the end, the wick gets burned out and there's still a lot of wax.
13:01To prevent it, you can make your candle a nice hat made of aluminum foil.
13:06Once you light the candle and put the cap on it,
13:09the heat will distribute evenly, melting all the wax.
13:12Yes.
13:14These glitches between skirting boards can be pretty annoying
13:17and they can ruin the whole look of your room.
13:20You can cover these glitches with a piece of chalk, just like this Redditor did.
13:25You have this lovely set of cutlery your great-grandmother left you,
13:29but it faded with time and no dish soap managed to help.
13:33Hot water, baking soda, salt and aluminum foil can help you.
13:37Just mix them all in one container
13:39and mind that the sheet of aluminum foil should simply be immersed in water.
13:43Then, grab the cutlery and just dip it into the mixer.
13:47It works instantly.
13:48Look what a gorgeous result this Redditor had.
13:51Really?
13:52Duct tape can help you adjust your parquet without ruining it.
13:57If you ever see a slit and you need to move a parquet tile,
14:01grab some duct tape, stick it to the tile and then pull.
14:05The tile will move to the place where it's supposed to be.
14:11To make the suction cups hold well, add a layer of Vaseline.
14:15This way, they will stick better
14:17and next time that they don't hold, just reapply the Vaseline.
14:23A simple spatula may come in handy not only in the kitchen,
14:27but in a bedroom too.
14:29Next time you change bed sheets,
14:32use a spatula to tuck them in between the bed and the mattress.
14:36This TikToker swears by this life hack
14:39that helps make the bed the same way they do in hotels.
14:44Some people like collecting baseballs,
14:47but it's not that easy to display them on the shelf
14:50as they tend to roll away.
14:52You can use bottle caps as baseball holders,
14:56just like this Redditor.
14:58In case you don't like the design of the caps,
15:01get creative and paint them.
15:04Tin cans with tomato soup and other stuff
15:07aren't the most convenient thing out there.
15:10Sometimes you only need a part of that jar,
15:13but the leftovers can't be stored properly
15:16once you open up the tin lid.
15:18A jar of Nutella is a lifesaver for such cases.
15:22Its lid fits perfectly on tin cans.
15:27Ever notice that accumulating sticky residue
15:30on the bottom of your laundry detergent cup?
15:33This one can be pretty hard to clean.
15:36So next time you do your laundry,
15:38just throw it in with the wash.
15:40You can actually put the laundry detergent cup
15:43inside the washing machine each time you use it.
15:46This way, the residue won't build up
15:49and the cup will always be clean.
15:53Let's imagine you have two hard disk magnets
15:56and a bag of chips.
15:58Are these things related?
16:00Absolutely!
16:01Next time you're too full to finish the chips,
16:04secure the bag with two magnets.
16:07They will keep the air away
16:09when you decide to finish the bag.
16:11The taste will be the same.
16:14Don't throw away leftover soap bars.
16:17You can use it until the very end.
16:21This Redditor showed how they sort of weld
16:23the leftover bar with the new one.
16:25And these two guys stick to each other while lathering.
16:29If you don't find it convenient,
16:31you can go create it
16:32and make the liquid soap out of the leftovers instead.
16:35Once you've collected enough tiny bars,
16:38grate them,
16:39then melt them in a microwave oven
16:41and then add some water.
16:43You can regulate the consistency yourself.
16:46The more water you add,
16:48the more watery the soap will get.
16:50You can also add a dash of liquid glycerin
16:53for extra moistening.
16:55Let the mixture sit for 24 hours
16:57and there you have it,
16:58your DIY liquid soap.
17:00Go to bed rushed.
17:01Part 5.
17:01Cut off the fire.
17:02Come and read .
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