Signed in 1959 by twelve countries at the height of the Cold War, the Antarctic Treaty bans military activity and nuclear explosions on the continent and guarantees freedom of scientific research. The territorial claims of seven countries are 'frozen': neither recognised nor abandoned. A protocol adopted in 1991 also bans all mining. The treaty now has 58 parties. Military personnel may be present, but only for peaceful purposes such as supporting research stations.
That's the estimate from a WHO-led study published in The Lancet in 2024, covering the half-century since the Expanded Programme on Immunization was launched in 1974. It works out to about six lives saved every minute, mostly infants. The measles vaccine alone accounts for around 60% of those lives.
According to the World Gold Council, about 216,000 tonnes of gold have been mined in all of human history. Because gold is so dense (19.3 tonnes per cubic metre), it would fit in a cube about 22 metres on each side, roughly the height of a seven-storey building. Strikingly, about two-thirds of it has been mined since 1950.