Expensive origins

Living as kings: 10 everyday things that were once worth more than gold

Image: Annie Spratt

Many of the things we take for granted today were once the stuff of dreams for kings, aristocrats, and the wealthy few. From basic household staples to everyday technology, these now-common goods were once markers of status and privilege. Here’s a look at 10 items that were once nearly unattainable luxuries.

Image: Daniel Kraus

Once called "white gold," sugar was a luxury in Europe during the Middle Ages, imported at high cost from the East. Only the wealthy could afford it, and it was often displayed as a status symbol.

By the 18th century, however, colonial plantations had increased supply, driving down global prices. Today, it’s one of the cheapest commodities in the world.

Image: Anas Alhajj

Highly coveted, black pepper was once used as currency in medieval Europe. Imported from India, it was so valuable that entire expeditions were launched just to secure trade routes.

Only the wealthiest households could afford to season their food with pepper regularly. Now, thanks to mass cultivation, it’s the most common spice in kitchens worldwide.

Image: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen

Who would have thought transparent windows were once a luxury? In the Middle Ages, glass windows were reserved for cathedrals and palaces, while most homes relied on wooden shutters or oiled cloth.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that mass production made window glass affordable for ordinary households.

Image: Mike Kenneally

Coffee didn’t reach Europe until the 17th century, where it was considered an exotic and costly import. Coffeehouses soon became elite meeting places for merchants and intellectuals.

By the 19th century, improved trade routes and colonial plantations made coffee affordable for the masses.

Image: Scott Rodgerson

A humble ice cube wasn’t always a common sight. Before refrigeration, ice was harvested from frozen lakes and shipped long distances, making it expensive and seasonal.

Some insulation techniques allowed it to be preserved year-round, but it remained a privilege mostly reserved for the wealthy. Ice production plants in the late 19th century democratized cold storage, and by the mid‑20th century, home freezers had made ice an everyday convenience.

Image: Emmy Smith

Though abundant now, salt was once vital—not just for flavor, but for preserving food and countless other uses—and notoriously difficult to produce in inland regions. Heavily taxed and fiercely coveted, it even sparked wars.

The Roman practice of paying soldiers partly in salt is often said to have given us the word "salary," literally meaning payment in salt. Only with modern mining and global shipping did salt lose its status as a precious commodity.

Image: Vrînceanu Iulia

Before the printing press, books were handwritten manuscripts that could take months or even years to produce. Only monasteries, royalty, and the very wealthy could afford to own them.

Fortunately, Gutenberg’s press in the 15th century revolutionized access by lowering prices and helping to spread literacy to the broader public.

Image: Noah Clark

The earliest mirrors were made from polished obsidian or metal, making them very difficult to produce. Even after more refined techniques using glass backed with a thin layer of silver were developed, mirrors remained luxury goods.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that industrial glassmaking and silvering techniques made mirrors affordable for middle-class homes.

Image: Nadia Clabassi

In medieval Europe, soap was costly—largely because it was made using olive oil, itself an expensive commodity. Those who couldn’t afford soap relied on water or abrasive cleaning materials.

Heavy taxation kept soap prices high until the 19th century, when a combination of lifted taxes and industrial manufacturing made soap affordable for the masses.

Image: Museums Victoria

Soon after its invention, photography remained an expensive and formal process that required a professional studio. Only the wealthy could afford photographic portraits.

It wasn’t until the 20th century, with mass-market cameras like Kodak’s Brownie and simpler film development techniques, that photography became accessible to everyone.

COSMIC LEXICON

Discover Ten Astronomical Terms You've Likely Never Heard Before!

Image: Guillermo Ferla

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to space? Just imagine the variety of peculiar objects, scenarios, and environments awaiting there, some of them being completely unimaginable here on Earth.

While we are all familiar with stars, planets, moons, comets, and eclipses, there is a fascinating lexicon of lesser-known astronomical terms you have probably never heard of. Today we'll unveil 10 of these terms, each of which names amazing phenomena that will leave you speechless!

Image: Bryan Goff

Isn't it amazing to look up and see the beautiful stars that light up our night sky? But wait, because you haven't heard of magnetars yet!

A magnetar is a star, but not just any star. It's a type of neutron star born from the remnants of a huge supernova explosion. A magnetar differs from other celestial bodies due to its exceptionally potent magnetic field beating that of Earth by trillions of times. This immense magnetic capacity enables it to emit electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays and gamma rays, and also initiate intense seismic events known as starquakes.

Image: Viktor Forgacs™️

Yes, this word might sound like a delicacy from French cuisine or the name of a precious gem, but that is not what's going on here.

Short for "quasi-stellar radio source," a quasar is an incredibly luminous and energetic object that stands out at the center of some galaxies, powered by huge black holes. With its intense energy and luminosity, a quasar becomes a cosmic force that emits stunning amounts of electromagnetic radiation.

Nowadays, quasars are observed in distant parts of the universe, far away from Earth, offering scientists precious data about black holes and the early stages of galaxy formation.

Image: Doug Walters

Are you a winter or a summer person? Well, regardless of your preference, Absolute Zero would freeze the bravest of winter lovers.

Absolute Zero represents the theoretical lowest possible temperature. This concept plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of matter in extreme environments, such as those of outer space.

So, do you want to know what the coldest possible temperature is? It is an incredible -460 degrees Fahrenheit (or -273.15 degrees Celsius), also called 0 Kelvin, which results in particles reaching a state of minimal motion. You can be sure that weird things happen at such temperatures!

Image: NASA

While it may look like we accidentally dropped something on the keyboard, that is not the case. "Syzygy" is a real astronomical term that refers to the phenomenon of alignment of 3 celestial bodies.

It might not sound like the kind of word you'd expect to hear from a scientist, but this funny term is often used to describe the alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. When these three align perfectly in a straight line, astronomers describe them as being "in syzygy."

If you stay updated on this month's astronomical events, you might "casually" drop this word into conversation with friends!

Image: OLHA ZAIKA

You may be familiar with meteorites, but have you ever heard of achondrites?

Achondrites are the lesser-known members of the meteorite family, distinguished by a specific characteristic: the absence of chondrules, which are small spherical grains found in other types of meteorites, a feature that makes them special and rare.

Achondrites are thought to originate from celestial bodies like planets or moons. Therefore, they could contain key information about those 'parent' celestial bodies and the events that shaped them.

Image: NASA

As you probably already know, Earth's orbit around the Sun isn't perfectly circular. At certain points, we are closer to the radiant star, while at others, we travel to more distant places. The term "aphelion" denotes the specific moment of a celestial body's orbit at which it reaches its greatest distance from the Sun.

Want to know how far away from our beloved Sun we can be? When Earth reaches its aphelion, something typically occurring in July, it's positioned an average of 94,506,364 miles from the Sun, although this distance may fluctuate due to various factors. In any case, don't forget to wear sunscreen!

Image: Melissa van Niekerk

Of course, celestial bodies' orbits not only have a point farthest from the Sun but also a point closest to it. The "perihelion" marks the opposite of the aphelion. That means it's the point where a celestial body is nearest to the Sun.

When Earth is at its perihelion, it is approximately 91,404,095 miles from the Sun, which occurs in the month of January. While it might not appear significant at first glance, the variance in Earth's distance from the Sun between aphelion and perihelion is around 3 million miles! You know, in the expanse of space, distances aren't exactly just around the corner.

Image: NASA

We have already identified the farthest and closest points to the Sun, so why not find the average? That's precisely what's been done, resulting in a measurement known as the Astronomical Unit.

So, the Astronomical Unit represents the average distance between the centers of Earth and the Sun, translating to about 92,955,807 miles.

Now, let's do some math (don't worry if numbers aren't your thing, we've got it covered). Based on the provided information, when Earth is at its perihelion, it's approximately 0.983 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun. In comparison, at aphelion, it's about 1.017 AU from the yellow dwarf.

Image: Braňo

Have you had the chance to take a look at NASA's photos of the Sun? Of course, these images have the power to astonish anyone as they show the glorious beauty of our nearest star. But if you take a closer look at those pictures, you'll notice lighter and brighter spots present in the photosphere (the visible "surface" of the Sun, a layer about 250 miles thick). Each one of these marks is called a facula.

In addition to their luminosity, these spots shine with intense heat, quite warmer than the surrounding areas, and they are found in regions with extremely powerful magnetic fields.

Image: NASA

As you can infer from the end of the word, planetoids are celestial bodies that orbit the Sun, similar to planets but smaller. We can think of them as the little babies in the cosmic family.

That's right, it's another name for minor planets or dwarf planets, such as the well-known Ceres and Pluto. And don't forget, asteroids are part of this category, too.

Planetoids differ from planets in several key aspects: they have a less structured composition and also have more irregular orbits. In addition, because of their smaller size (which can vary from just a few yards to several hundred miles in diameter), planetoids also possess less gravitational pull.