15 Most EXPENSIVE Liquids In The World

virtually everything in the world has a value something that's determined by its scarcity and demand for it but even though we know an object's price is set it can still be surprising to find out just how expensive some things are get your checkbook ready because from animal products to illegal materials to one of the most deadly substances known to science these are the top 15 most valuable liquids in the world [Music] number 15 patchouli essential oil 605 dollars per gallon the patchouli plant is a small perennial herb that's native to the islands across southeast asia and has long been used in local remedies but its use expanded over the past few centuries as it became a highly sought after ingredient for perfumes and other scented products most of the world's supply is grown in indonesia but the production process to turn it to oil means that so little is made from each flower that has become the most expensive essential oil of all costing upwards of 605 dollars per gallon patchouli essential oil is formed by collecting the dried leaves and twigs and steam distilling them this process ruptures the cell walls and allows the oil to be squeezed out before being distilled to ensure its purity and then bottled and sent to manufacturing plants it's mainly now used in perfume insect repellents for herbal teas and in some medicines because of this range of uses is able to command a much higher price than you would expect of course only tiny quantities are used in each product so while it's expensive in large amounts you'll only have a few dollars worth of it in a bottle of perfume number fourteen human blood fifteen hundred dollars per gallon blood is our life force and is one of the miraculous developments that has allowed animals on our planet to evolve larger bodies not only is it responsible for transporting oxygen to the cells around the body but it also carries vital white cells that fight off illness and carry waste material away from muscles and organs normally our bodies are able to produce plenty of blood for our own needs but there are some instances when extra is needed particularly during operations following a serious accident or if the body's ability to make it is restricted for some reason in these cases blood donations are required and while most countries in the world have networks set up to collect blood from volunteers this doesn't mean the final product that's used for patients is free each gallon of blood can cost up to fifteen hundred dollars by the time it's used it's just most of us never see the full price because it's usually absorbed by national health services the reason for this cost is because of the testing and sterilization that's necessary before it can be used every bag of donated blood must be screened for contaminants such as signs of disease or the presence of unwanted chemical compounds then it has to be cleaned packaged stored and prepared for transport in some cases especially with rare blood types the bags have to be transported thousands of miles to where the patients need them and this further increases the average cost number 13 gamma hydroxybutyric acid 2210 per gallon gamma hydroxybutyric acid is more commonly known as ghb is a controversial drug that's highly controlled in most countries around the world as a neurotransmitter that occurs naturally in the brain it's used in medicine as an anesthetic or as a treatment for conditions such as narcolepsy and alcoholism mainly because its primary effect is to make you feel sleepy and unaware of what's going on around you this effect however also led to its use in the 90s as a drug to spike people's drinks with because of its links with being used as a so-called date rape drug authorities quickly acted to make it a scheduled substance that could only be produced in authorized sites under strict limitations fortunately recent evidence has suggested that the incidences of people ingesting ghb without their knowledge has significantly dropped in recent years but there's still a demand for it for medical uses because it's so difficult to acquire it can cost upwards of twenty two hundred dollars per gallon of course no one would ever need to use it in such large quantities so it's still economical within a medical setting but is now only ever used when alternative treatments aren't expected to be effective enough number 12 nail polish 2 300 per gallon the first example of people using a type of paint to decorate their nails can be traced back more than 5 000 years to ancient china and even as far back as 2000 years ago they were making substances that are similar to the nail polishes we used today by combining ingredients such as beeswax egg whites gelatin and vegetable dyes of course technology has since come a long way and the compounds used to make modern day nail polishes and varnishes are much more complex and able to produce a wide range of different finishes from classic shines to matte effects and even gel based ones as painting nails has become one of the largest beauty and fashion statements in the world it's a huge industry and one that was estimated to be worth almost 11 billion dollars worldwide in 2020 there are countless manufacturers who make their own blends one of the appeals of entering such a competitive marketplace is the huge profits that can be made if you do it right anyone who has bought a bottle of polish will know that the price can vary dramatically and all you're really getting is a small bottle with very little liquid inside it it can easily be the equivalent of spending twenty three hundred per gallon of product making it one of the most expensive liquids on earth so it's just fortunate that we only ever need to use it in small quantities number eleven black printer ink twenty three hundred and eighty dollars per gallon since the dawn of computing and the ability to create virtual documents on the screen there's been a need to turn these images into physical objects and that's why printers were created they've been invaluable over the past decades to be able to share work but as anyone who has ever had to replace the ink in one will know they can be surprisingly expensive to run this has got very little to do with the ingredients used to actually make the ink itself but more because of the business model of most printer manufacturers particularly now to encourage people to purchase printers in the first place the actual units are available for a surprisingly low cost but the companies that sell them to you are banking on the fact that they'll make most of their profit back by selling you the ink most printers only work properly with the right type of cartridge so you have no choice but to pay the price that the manufacturer has set and in some cases this can be the equivalent of almost twenty four hundred dollars per gallon and in some cases has been known to be many multiples of that since the actual cost of producing the ink is minimal this has led to a large counterfeit industry with customers often doing whatever they can to reduce the price they have to pay despite the protests of the printer companies this is often done legally but as part of a battle they've been fighting for decades so don't expect things to change anytime soon number 10 mercury 2966 dollars per gallon every element in the periodic table has its own unique structure and behaviors but there's perhaps none as unusual as mercury it's the only metal that's a liquid at room temperature and this means it has a number of practical uses from being the traditional liquid used in thermometers to medical and engineering applications and even in the extraction of gold and silver from rock despite its range of uses mercury is actually surprisingly rare in the earth's crust and is only found in quantities of less than eight one hundredths of a part per million many of the mines that once provided the vast majority of the world's supply are now empty which has seen prices soar to almost three thousand dollars per gallon and industries that relied on it have been forced to search for alternatives as a result the more we've begun to learn about it the more this is a good thing mainly because of the risks of mercury poisoning which has seen the introduction of strict regulations around where and when it can actually be used demand is however beginning to rise once more because mercury is a vital component in the construction of compact fluorescent bulbs which are far more efficient than traditional lighting so it's quite possible that with green initiatives around the world its price will reach new heights in the coming years number nine insulin 13 100 per gallon human bodies produce a wide range of different chemicals to help regulate bodily functions these are usually in the form of what we call hormones or neurotransmitters one of the ones that's linked with the largest number of health conditions is insulin produced in the pancreas it's responsible for regulating how much glucose or sugar is absorbed by the body's organs and the way that carbohydrates fats and proteins metabolize sometimes though the body is unable to produce enough insulin or the cells develop a resistance to it and this causes a condition that we refer to as diabetes it can significantly affect a person's life so it was a complete game changer when in 1978 the first genetically engineered synthetic human insulin was made by a technique that involved using e coli bacteria to produce it in large quantities before this the only medical solution to diabetes was a strictly controlled diet but things soon changed in people with diabetes were able to top up their body's levels on insulin to ensure the sugar they ingest was being broken down properly to this day it's still a vital management technique for people with the condition but with such a complicated production process and some required testing and medical oversight it doesn't exactly come cheap some estimates put the price of insulin at around thirteen thousand one hundred dollars per gallon meaning that in the absence of medical insurance or health service that provides it for you diabetes can become an incredibly costly illness to treat we are constantly adding more people to the top fives production team to bring you all the best content be sure to subscribe with notifications on and hit the like button number eight chanel number five twenty three thousand three hundred dollars per gallon originally launched in 1921 chanel number five was the first fragrance to be released by coco chanel who would go on to be the face of the brand and the first advertisement that was published in 1937. the name was chosen for a variety of reasons mainly because the number five was so important to chanel from her childhood while she was being raised in a convent still in preparation for launching a fragrance it was the fifth vial out of ten that she liked the most and the rest was history it has gone on to become the most famous fragrance in the world and still more than a century after going on sale it's highly sought after and through the years has counted some of the most famous people in the world as the faces of the brand including gene shrimpton marilyn monroe and nicole kidman it's not only the fragrance itself but its association with glamour that makes it so special and of course it's priced accordingly available in a range of sizes it typically cost the equivalent of more than 23 thousand dollars per gallon making it easily one of the most expensive liquids on earth number seven horseshoe crab blood fifty three thousand two hundred fifty dollars per gallon despite the name horseshoe crabs aren't technically a species of crab but our type of arthropod that's closely related to crabs native to shallow coastal regions around the world they first appeared on earth around 244 million years ago and have changed very little since meaning they're regarded as living fossils because of their age they have a unique biological makeup compared to other species and what's particularly interesting is their blood it uses hemocyanin to transport oxygen to the cells and because this substance contains high levels of copper their blood is blue instead of red like most other animals after studying their blood scientists found that it has an incredibly important ability in the production of medical supplies it's the only known natural source of a compound called limous amoeba site lysate which is used to detect the presence of a bacteria called endotoxin if just a tiny amount of this bacteria is present in vaccines injectable drugs or implants like artificial hips then the result could be fatal so there's an entire industry dedicated to harvesting horseshoe crab blood for medicinal use it's crucial for example to ensure coronavirus vaccines are safe to use and to enable this more than half a million horseshoe crabs are caught each year drained of their blood and then returned to the ocean where many of them will subsequently die it is an incredibly time consuming process which means that the blood itself costs around fifty three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars per gallon so far there's no potential replacement in 2016 a synthetic version was authorized for use in some cases but it's yet to receive authorization in all markets so vaccines sold in countries like the us still have to use horseshoe crab lysate in their production number six lsd one hundred and nine thousand two hundred dollars per gallon lysergic acid diethylamide or lsd for short was first created by a swiss chemist called albert hoffman in 1938 and it was another five years until it was realized that the chemical could cause extreme hallucinogenic effects with interest from agencies like the cia into its ability to be used for mind control it was sold as a medication for research purposes in the 1950s and 60s while also becoming one of the most popular recreational drugs of the time it remains illegal and highly controlled virtually everywhere around the world because of the concerns of short and long-term effects of its use but in recent years there have been calls to relax these bans as people claim to have found safe and effective ways to use the drug to their benefit one of the most important things to be aware of with lsd is that in its pure form once it's synthesized is far too potent for human consumption it has to be drastically watered down even then a typical dose will be made up of a drop on a piece of paper and these can sell for anywhere up to fifty dollars each this means pure lsd has a value of just over a hundred nine thousand dollars per gallon making it easily one of the most expensive controlled substances in the world even if that's based on prices for when it's sold in an illegal way number five king cobra venom 153 thousand dollars per gallon king cobras are a species of snake that are endemic to forested regions throughout india and southeast asia growing to the length of up to 13 feet they are the longest known species of venomous snake in the world they usually hunt other snakes rodents and lizards but their venom has evolved to be so powerful and fast acting that a bite can soon be deadly this is because the venom contains a blend of cytotoxins and neurotoxins that cause havoc with the central nervous system a wet bite when the snake injects its venom can lead to extreme pain blurred vision paralysis cardiovascular collapse coma failure of the respiratory system and ultimately death in fact the two-tenths of a fluid ounce that the snake can inject in one bite are actually more than enough to kill 20 people or an elephant what's interesting about the venom though is that it also contains a protein called ohanian which is of interest to medical researchers because of its potential in helping to treat chronic pain sufferers often experience pain as a result of faulty nerve signals and ohanian has been found to be able to block this from happening this means that king cobra venom is in high demand for studies but because it's so dangerous to get a hold of and the fact that each snake only produces very small quantities means it's highly valuable and can cost upwards of 153 thousand dollars per gallon number four horse semen 4.7 million dollars per gallon horse racing is a huge business around the world and one that very few people can afford to seriously become competitive in the problem is you simply can't take any horse train them and then let them race because trainers have been selectively breeding them for centuries if your horse doesn't have the right dna to begin with then they'll never be able to compete at the front of the pack unless you have a stable of horses to choose from you're not going to get a hold of some basic building blocks to create your show-stopping steed this invariably requires buying some horse semen but it doesn't come cheap big star for example is a recently successful gold medal winning stallion and his owners have now put him on a stud farm where it's time for him to really earn the big bucks in one session where they extracted around 80 mils of product it's thought they can split it in up to 70 straws which sell for around 1200 each this means that the horse's semen is valued at around 4.7 million dollars per gallon number three death stalker scorpion venom 39 million dollars per gallon the death stalker scorpion which is native to desert and scrub land regions across north africa and the middle east may only grow up to just three inches long but it's known as one of the most dangerous species of scorpions and creatures on the planet its venom contains at least six different types of neurotoxin which block vital chemical receptors throughout the body and while each individual isn't normally able to inject enough venom to kill in one sting it'll still lead to severe pain and serious damage to the internal organs the venom also contains a compound called chlorotoxin however and while it's dangerous in high doses there's some evidence to suggest that it has the potential to help treat brain tumors and to help regulate the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin because of this death stalker scorpion venom is in high demand by medical researchers but because of the danger in collecting it along with the small volumes produced by each scorpion it's incredibly expensive at the equivalent of around thirty nine million dollars per gallon number two the amalfi limoncello supreme 35 million 598 thousand dollars per bottle if you were to guess what the most expensive alcohol in the world is you'd probably think it's a premium vintage champagne or perhaps an aged whiskey surprisingly it's not either of those or even a drink that most people like because the current record holder is a bottle of limoncello it's a drink that's produced in southern italy by soaking lemon zest and peels into purified alcohol which releases the natural oils and is then mixed with essential oils and syrup to create a viscous and flavored drink typically the alcohol content will range between 25 and 30 percent and it's commonly seen in restaurants family dinners and stores across italy as with all drinks however some manufacturers go the extra mile to create something truly special and that's the case with the diamaupfilimancello supreme of which only two bottles have ever been made the drink inside was a new blend specifically created by italy's antiqua de listeria russo and the bottle itself is embedded with three single cut flawless diamonds on the neck which total 13 carats and one 18 and a half carat diamond on the body it's said to be a smooth and incredible drink and a stunning bottle to look at but with a price tag of around 35 and a half million dollars very few people will ever get to see one of these in real life [Music] number one botulinum toxin 1.5 billion dollars per gram beauty therapies are one of the most lucrative industries in the world as it seems there's no end of people looking for treatments to improve their appearance i hope that'll increase their confidence and make them happier with themselves there's a wide range of options on offer from non-intrusive herbal remedies to far more invasive techniques but surprisingly one of the most common is botox and it's so normalized that very few people take the time to understand exactly what's involved the injections contain tiny amounts of a substance called botulinum toxin which is a neurotoxin protein that prevents the actions of other neurotoxins this causes paralysis which is essentially the effect cosmetic treatments are looking for but if it's present in larger doses it can easily lead to serious complications a botox injection contains minuscule amounts of the actual active ingredient and there's good reason for that just four grams of botulinum toxin powder is believed to be more than enough to kill every person in the world so the dose you need to eliminate wrinkles is a mere fraction of this based on the price of the treatments however it's estimated that just one gram of pure botulinum toxin powder which can be added to water to make a liquid would cost around one and a half billion dollars it's not known how much a gallon would cost since there's nowhere near that amount that has ever been produced but with the equivalent prices it'd be more valuable than virtually everything else on earth combined watch our binge watching playlist if you'd like to watch all of our most popular top 15 videos grab a drink grab a snack and get ready to binge you

Channel: Top Fives

Views: 78,818

Rating: 4.8918085 out of 5

Keywords: Most EXPENSIVE Liquids, Most Expensive Liquids In The World

Id: EC31S5OtA1E

Length: 21min 4sec (1264 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 07 2021