gold

Each year, more than $3 million in gold and silver winds up in Swiss wastewater, scientists found. But in most cases, it doesn't make economic sense to extract and recycle the metals.

Gold is tasteless, odorless and has zero nutritional value, but it's appearing in everything from hamburgers to $1,000 sundaes. Much of it amounts to publicity stunts, though sometimes it's pure art.

Back in August, officials in Poland thought they had located a fabled train filled with gold in an underground tunnel. Now it looks like the train is just a myth after all.