When aluminium defeated gold

Can you guess when the first block of aluminium was produced? Those who guessed the 20th century are mistaken. Aluminium was first produced more than 150 years ago, in 1854, by a Parisian architect. By the way, the first object made from aluminium was a child’s rattle, which the architect presented to the emperor Napoleon III. For his work, he was rewarded with quite a sum: 65 000 francs, whose equivalent today would be a lottery jackpot. Naturally, there was a good reason why aluminium was so expensive in the beginning: it was considered to be the metal that would in time substitute silver. In the earliest days, aluminium was so expensive, that it was worth more than even gold!