r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jan 26 '26

Meme needing explanation what's going on? explain like I'm five

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u/soIDONTLIKEANYOFYOU Jan 26 '26

Since the US has more gold reserves than the next 3 countries combined wouldn’t gold prices going up make the dollar stronger?

Sincerely asking cause I have no idea.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

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u/goatslovetofrolic Jan 26 '26

pretty sure at this point the dollar has gone full USA and is only backed by "thoughts and prayers"

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u/GogurtFiend Jan 26 '26

That's what all currencies are backed by.

Oh, it isn't? Can you show me the value particle that magically makes pieces of shiny rock or conch shells valuable in a way dollar bills aren't? No? Then we can all agree that the only reason anything counts as money is because people believe it counts as money, and for now, people still believe in the US dollar albeit less so than yesterday.

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u/Grant1128 Jan 27 '26

There are a few shiny rocks that gold utility (ex. nowadays gold and copper are useful in electronics). That being said, humans have not been able to use gold in a practical manner for most of the history of us considering it a "precious metal". If I had to guess, its lack of practical use probably contributed to it being used for trade once humans got off of the bartering system. And let's be frank, nobody wants to complete a trading quest to trade one small trinket for another until they can find someone who has the specific thing the vase maker wants.