Mongooses are a species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Mongooses are commonly terrestrial and many are active during the day. Some species lead predominantly solitary lives, seeking out food only for themselves, while others travel in groups, sharing food among group members.

The Meerkat is a species of Mongoose, a small, diurnal mammal that forages for invertebrates in open country. Its behavior and small size make it enticing to larger carnivores and birds of prey. However, it can capture and consume small migrating birds.

Sugar states were established in the Caribbean during the 1600s and 1700s to exploit profits from the high demand for sugar in Europe. The Europeans brought unintended new species such as rats in ships. Initially, the rats were rife and destroyed up to a quarter of the annual crop of sugarcane.

In 1872, a Jamaican sugar planter, Mr. W. B. Espeut, imported small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) and released them on his plantation. The rat populations were reduced, so other farmers brought them to release into other areas, including Puerto Rico, Barbados and Cuba.

The Buddhist god of wealth Vaisravana, or Dzambala for Tibetans, is frequently depicted holding a mongoose that is spitting jewels from its mouth.

Affluenza, a portmanteau of affluence and influenza, is a term used by critics of consumerism. Sources define this term as a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. It is also defined as the bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to “keep up with the Joneses”. It is an epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream, or an unsustainable addiction to economic growth.

Proponents of the term consider the costs of prizing material wealth vastly outweigh the benefits. They claim those who become wealthy will find the economic success leaving them unfulfilled and hungry for more wealth. The condition is considered particularly acute amongst those with inherited wealth, who are often said to experience guilt, lack of purpose and dissolute behavior, as well as obsession with holding on to the wealth.

British psychologist Oliver James asserts that there is a correlation between the increasing nature of affluenza and the resulting increase in material inequality. The more unequal a society, the greater the unhappiness of its citizens. Referring to the manipulative methods used by the advertising industry, James relates the stimulation of artificial needs to the rise in affluenza.

James also believes that higher rates of mental disorders are the consequence of excessive wealth-seeking in consumerist nations. He cites World Health Organization data that English-speaking nations have twice as much mental illness as mainland Europe. James defines affluenza as placing a high value on money, possessions, appearances and fame, and this becomes the rationale behind the increasing mental illness. He explains the greater incidence of affluenza as the result of ‘Selfish Capitalism,’ the Market Liberal political governance found in English-speaking nations as compared to the less selfish capitalism pursued in mainland Europe. James asserts that societies can remove the negative consumerist effects by pursuing real needs over perceived wants, and by defining themselves as having value independent of their material possessions.

Affluenza is considered to be most present in the United States, where the culture encourages its citizens to measure their worth by financial success and material possessions. Mainstream media outlets, such as television broadcasts, tend to demonstrate how pervasive the idea has become, and by the same token the same media outlets reinforce the values to the viewers.

The term affluenza was popularized in the United States by the 1997 documentary of the same name from KCTS and Seattle and Oregon Public Broadcasting. John de Graaf, producer of the documentary, also co-authored a book with the same title.

Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate. It occurs in nature as flattened and often twinned crystals and transparent cleavable masses called selenite. A very fine grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum is called alabaster, which is prized for ornamental work of various sorts.

Selenite is named after the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene, due to its soft white light. It is said to have many metaphysical and healing benefits. Selenite powder has been used cosmetically for thousands of years to enhance one’s natural beauty. It is believed that this crystal assists with mental focus, growth, luck, immunity, and soothes the emotions. In arid areas, selenite can occur in a flower like form typically opaque with embedded sand grains called desert rose. The most visually striking varieties are the giant crystals from Naica Mine.

The Naica Mine is a working mine in Chihuahua, Mexico that is known for its extraordinary crystals. Naica is a lead, zinc and silver mine in which large voids have been found, containing crystals of selenite gypsum as large as 4 feet in diameter and 50 feet long. The chamber holding these crystals is known as the Crystal Cave of Giants, and is approximately 1000 feet down in the limestone host rock of the mine. The crystals were formed by hydrothermal fluids emanating from the magma chambers below. The cavern was discovered while the miners were drilling through the Naica fault, which they were worried would flood the mine. The Cave of Swords is another chamber in the Naica Mine, containing similar large crystals.

The Naica mine was first discovered by early prospectors in 1794 south of Chihuahua City. Until around 1900, the primary interest was silver and gold. Large scale mining began as zinc and lead became more valuable. During the Mexican Revolution the mine was producing a great deal of wealth. Revolutionary troops entered the town and demanded money from the owners. One of them was assassinated when he refused to pay, causing the mine to shut down from 1911 to 1922.

Just before the mine was closed, the famous Cave of Swords was discovered at a depth of 400 feet. Due to the incredible crystals, it was decided to try to preserve the cave. While many of the crystals have been collected, this is still a fascinating cave to visit. In one part there are so many crystals on one of the walls, they appear to be like an underwater reef moving in a gentle undulating motion in an ocean current.

In April 2000, brothers Juan and Pedro Sanchez were drilling a new tunnel when they made a truly spectacular discovery. While Naica miners are accustomed to finding crystals, Juan and Pedro were absolutely amazed by the cavern that they found. The brothers immediately informed the engineer in charge, Roberto Gonzalez. He realized that they had discovered a natural treasure and quickly rerouted the tunnel. During this phase some damage was done as several miners tried to remove pieces of the huge crystals, so the mining company soon installed an iron door to protect the find. Later, one of the workers, with the intention of stealing crystals, managed to get in through a narrow hole. He tried to take some plastic bags filled with fresh air inside, but the strategy didn’t work. He lost consciousness and later was found thoroughly baked.

When entering the cave a group is issued helmets, lanterns, rubber boots, and gloves. One must then be driven by truck into the main mining tunnel called Rampa Sn. Francisco. While the vertical drop is approximately 1000 feet, the drive is almost a half mile long. The truck stops in front of a concrete wall with a steel door. At the end of the tunnel there are three or four steps into the aperture of the cavern itself. In this short distance the temperature and humidity goes from being uncomfortably warm to literally a blast furnace.

Momentarily, the penetrating heat is forgotten as the crystals pop into view on the other side of the “Eye of the Queen”. The entire panorama is now lighted and the cavern has a depth and impressive cathedral-like appearance that was not visible on earlier trips. When inside the great cathedral of crystals, the pressure of intense heat create a gamut of emotions and perhaps hallucinations. One can only remain for a short period of time.

Geologists report that these natural crystal formations are incredibly complex. They have a magical or metaphysical personality independent of their chemical structures. There is a magma chamber two to three miles below the mountain and the heat from compressed lava travels through the faults up into the area of the mine. Super heated fluids carry the minerals the miners are seeking and also form the crystals. The mine is ventilated, otherwise it could not be worked. Some parts are not air conditioned, such as the Cave of the Crystals, and there one can feel the heat from the magma deep below. The fluids travel along the Naica fault, enter voids in the bedrock, and then form entirely natural structures that are not easily explained scientifically.

Since the late 20th century, with the growing interest in crystal therapy and crystal healing in the New Age, Neo Pagan, and alternative healing countercultures, the four crystalline varieties of gypsum have increased in popularity and commercial value. This increased interest has translated itself into both the retail mineral and jewelry trades. In the retail mineral trade, all four crystalline varieties are offered as rough, carved, or tumbled specimens. In the retail jewellery trade, selenite crystals with interior druse are offered as a form of drusy jewelry.

Gold is a highly prized precious metal, having been used as money, in jewelery, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, underground veins and in alluvial deposits. Pure gold is dense, soft, shiny and has a bright yellow color traditionally considered attractive.

It has been known and highly valued since prehistoric times. It may have been the first metal used by humans and was valued for ornamentation and rituals. Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold. The earliest known map is known as the Turin papyrus and shows the plan of a gold mine in Nubia together with indications of the local geology. Large mines also occurred across the Red Sea in what is now Saudi Arabia.

The Romans developed new methods for extracting gold on a large scale using hydraulic mining methods. One of their largest mines was in Spain, where seven long aqueducts enabled them to sluice most of a large alluvial deposit. The legend of the golden fleece may refer to the use of fleeces to trap gold dust from placer deposits in the ancient world. 

The Mali Empire in Africa was famed throughout the old world for its large amounts of gold. Mansa Musa, ruler of the empire, gave away so much gold that it took over a decade for the economy across North Africa in 1324 to recover, due to the rapid inflation that it initiated. The European exploration of the Americas was fueled in no small part by reports of the gold ornaments displayed in great profusion by Native American peoples, especially in Central America, Peru, and Colombia.

One main goal of Medieval alchemists was to produce gold from other substances, presumably by the interaction with a mythical substance called the philosopher’s stone. Although they never succeeded in this attempt, the alchemists promoted an interest in what can be done with substances, and this laid a foundation for today’s chemistry.

During the 19th century, gold rushes occurred whenever large gold deposits were discovered. The first documented discovery of gold in the United States was at the Reed Gold Mine near Georgeville, North Carolina in 1803. Further gold rushes occurred in California, Colorado, and Klondike.

Gold is the most malleable and ductile metal. A single gram can be beaten into a sheet of one square meter, or an ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be beaten thin enough to become translucent. The transmitted light appears greenish blue, because gold strongly reflects yellow and red.

In various countries, gold is used as a standard for monetary exchange. Gold formed the basis for the gold standard of international currency used before the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971. Pure gold is too soft for ordinary use as coins and is typically hardened by alloying with copper or other base metals. The gold content of gold alloys is measured in carats (k), pure gold being designated as 24k.

High quality pure metallic gold is tasteless. Some modern esotericists and forms of alternative medicine assign metallic gold a healing power. Gold flake was used by the nobility in Medieval Europe as a decoration in foodstuffs and drinks, either to demonstrate the host’s wealth or in the belief that something that valuable and rare must be beneficial for one’s health. Goldwasser is a traditional herbal liqueur produced in Schwabach, Germany, and contains flakes of gold leaf. 

Gold alloys are used in restorative dentistry, especially in tooth restorations, such as crowns and permanent bridges. The gold alloys’ slight malleability facilitates the creation of a superior molar mating surface with other teeth and produces results that are generally more satisfactory than those produced by the creation of porcelain crowns. The use of gold crowns in more prominent teeth such as incisors is favored in some cultures and discouraged in others.

Because of its historically high value, much of the gold mined throughout history is still in circulation in one form or another. 75% of all gold ever produced has been extracted since 1910. It has been estimated that all the gold in the world that has ever been refined would form a single cube 66 feet wide on each side.

Recent research undertaken by Sir Frank Reith of the Australian National University shows that microbes play an important role in forming gold deposits, transporting and precipitating gold to form grains and nuggets that collect in alluvial deposits.