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ScienceSurprise 5/5Difficulty 2/5Reviewed on January 22, 2026

The world's oceans contain about 20 million tons of dissolved gold, enough to give every person on Earth 9 pounds.

Why it is true

While the gold is truly there, it is extremely diluted in the vast volume of seawater, making it currently impossible and too expensive to extract profitably.

Source: Oceanography

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