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Have you heard about Bitcoin? It’s a digital form of currency. There’s no central bank or government that backs it — it’s a decentralized form of currency that relies on a peer-to-peer network. The idea behind it is pretty interesting. By devoting computational power toward solving difficult computer problems, users “mine” Bitcoins, which they can then spend. But Bitcoin currency isn’t universally accepted and recently the revolutionary medium of exchange has experienced some problems.
Does the material used to make a coin have any bearing on its value?
by Marshall Brain | September 22, 2010
You Asked:
Does the material used to make a coin have any bearing on its value? — Leong, Ipoh, Malaysia
Marshall Brain Answers…
Stuff that makes you go Hmmm #21 – How to wrap presents in money
by Marshall Brain | September 13, 2010
Is this funny? Innovative? Obscene? Appalling?
Making Money And Breaking Out Of Jail The TechStuff Way
by Jonathan Strickland | August 13, 2010
This week’s episodes of TechStuff were about making cash and breaking out of jail. Sort of. On Monday, Chris and I talked about the technology the United States uses to create coins and paper currency. Making a coin requires lots of steps from creating the initial design to stamping it on a disc of metal. Chris and I talk you through the process. Along the way, we revel in some of the great terms used in the minting industry. I still want to take a spin on a whirlaway.
In this episode, Jonathan and Chris delve into the history of monetary systems and the various technologies that go into creating currency.
I have an affinity for Detroit, despite being accused of different in the podcast. It is true that I from time to time use the town as an example of social decay, but I am merely carrying on a longstanding comic tradition by picking on Detroit.
Detroit as a punchline doesn’t even make sense any longer. The city is no longer simply going to pot; there are people working to push Detroit to make a comeback. Everybody knows Tempe’s Detroit now. Detroit’s just Detroit.
Every so often a Republican lawmaker makes a push to get President Ronald Reagan on some kind of U.S. currency. A hero to conservatives, Reagan has been tossed out there to take the place of Hamilton, Jackson and Roosevelt on the $10 and $20 bills and the dime, respectively. None of those efforts made the cut. In fact, the dime proposal was quashed largely because Nancy Reagan publicly opposed of the measure.
Things are heating up again with a push led by Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. This time they have the $50 bill in their sights, and with it the legendary Union Army General and 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant.
Through the management of currency and interest, the Federal Reserve attempts to keep banks secure — but some believe it has another purpose. Tune in and learn what conspiracy theorists think about the Fed in this episode.
Even while Mayan protests that their calendar is cyclical, another signal that the world will sink into catastrophe in 2012 has emerged. As pointed out in a recent New York Times article about Visa’s transaction fees, plastic payment for transactions is expected to overtake cash that year. That seems like enough evidence to imagine the earth splitting in two and swallowing us into its molten heart hippie and Republican alike. No one will be spared.
A dye pack is a stack of real bills with a dye pack stuck in the middle. Learn more about dye packs in this HowStuffWorks podcast.
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