Regarding gold, i like this infographic [1], but my favorite from this channel is wolf population by country. Point being, that gold is shiny and beautiful, and it will be used even when it is not appropriate solution to the problem, just because it is shiny.

I didn't know that copper is a better conductor than gold. Surprised by that.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Gd8CRG0cc