Hey kids, sell your body now!

As a proud body owner, it is always good to be aware of the net worth of your asset. And luckily, contrary to the value of a human life, the value of the human body can quite easily be expressed as a monetary quantity. If you are looking to liquidate, one way or the other, read on..

The now defunct U.S. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils once calculated the average composition of one human body. Given the prices of these chemicals (on November 2, 2001) this produces the following overview (in dollars per pound):

65%      Oxygen         @ $0.00
18%      Carbon         @ $0.00
10%      Hydrogen       @ $0.00
3%       Nitrogen       @ $0.00
1.5%     Calcium        @ $1.36
1%       Phosphor       @ $2.03
0.35%    Potassium      @ $1.68
0.25%    Sulfur         @ $1.38
0.15%    Sodium         @ $1.29
0.15%    Chlorine       @ $1.03
0.05%    Magnesium      @ $1.68
0.0004%  Iron           @ $16.00
0.00004% Iodine         @ $1.34

(prices according to various sources on the world wide web. Your mileage may vary. Last time I checked oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen were available to everyone free of charge)

Well, body owners, let's look at an example. I weigh in at about 78 kilograms. Yes, I am Dutch, so I weigh kilograms, not pounds. For this example, and only for this example, I will recalculate myself to weighing approximately 172 pounds. That would make me 172 * 0.054414536 = $9.35. As a matter of fact, you can use this very constant to calculate your net worth!!

If you are looking to acquire, it is always a good idea to shop around. Take the time to compare. Get a bulk deal for your family at your local chemist. (For example, I'm quite sure you can get me for less than a buck elsewhere).