this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Mildly Interesting

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The raw (elemental) materials in your body are worth roughly £116,000 ($150,000) - or a lot less if you do the refining yourself (www.sciencefocus.com)
submitted 5 days ago by ickplant@lemmy.world to c/mildlyinteresting@lemmy.world
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[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 12 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

The raw ingredients of a human body would cost over £116,000. But if you’re prepared to do the refining yourself, a body could cost a lot less – under £100 in fact.

If we consider the individual elements, a typical 70kg adult body consists of about 46kg (101lbs) of oxygen, 13kg (27lbs) carbon, 7kg (15lbs) hydrogen, 2kg (4lbs) nitrogen and a kilo (2lbs) of calcium, plus another kilo (2lbs) combined of phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, sodium, chlorine, magnesium and some trace elements.

In his book The Body: A Guide for Occupants, author Bill Bryson calculates the total cost of these raw materials as over £116,000 ($150,000), but he was using the most expensive, chemically pure form of each element.