Guns decorated with gold and jewellery are displayed in the Drugs Museum, used by the military to showcase to soldiers the lifestyles of Mexican drug lords, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Mexico City, October 14, 2016.Reuters file 
A sales representative poses behind a nine-tael 24K gold in the shape of a dragon forming the numerals "2012", symbolizing the upcoming Year of the Dragon, at a Chow Tai Fook Jewellery store in Hong Kong December 6, 2011.Reuters file 
A man takes pictures of a miniature Rolls-Royce model made of gold, on display at a shopping mall in Shenyang, Liaoning province, April 5, 2015Reuters file 
People take pictures with their mobile phones of a model presenting lingerie made of gold during a promotional event at a gold store in Wuhan, Hubei province January 11, 2014. The lingerie weighs 3 kilograms (6.6 lbs) and is worth about a million yuan ($165,226).Reuters file 
A Chinese model displays a pair of shoes covered with gold during a jewelry show in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province in China, September 5, 2004.Reuters file 
A worker casts a gold bar of melted granules in the Austrian Gold and Silver Separating Plant Oegussa in Vienna June 2, 2009.Reuters file 
The new giant statue of Lord Muruga stands next to Malaysia's 272-step Batu Caves temple outside Kuala Lumpur January 27, 2006. Fifteen sculptors from India took more than three years to build the 42.7 metre (140 ft) gold statue, with 1,550 cubic metres (54,738 cubic ft) of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of paint.Reuters file 
A gold Combibar is seen at a plant of gold refiner and bar manufacturer Valcambi SA in the southern Swiss town of Balerna December 20, 2012. The divisible gold combibar has a purity of 99.9 percent, weighs 50 grams and also has predetermined breaking points which allow it to be easily separated without any loss of material into 1 gram pieces.Reuters file 
Donald Trump holds three bars of gold bullion in New York, U.S., September 15, 2011.Reuters file 
An AK-47, with gold parts and wooden carving, seized from alleged drug traffickers is seen during an operation at a military zone on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez February 16, 2012.Reuters file 
A worker casts a gold bar of melted granules in the Austrian Gold and Silver Separating Plant Oegussa in Vienna June 2, 2009.Reuters file
Gold finds takers among many and not just women. The yellow metal, which is tracked keenly worldwide for its safe-haven attribute, is used for many purposes — making jewellery, medals to reward winners, as a reserve by countries and yes, for storing black money. However, there are weird instances of gold being used for purposes that one would least imagine.
India is the second-largest consumer of gold, the first being China. The metal is also held as a reserve by countries globally.
According World Gold Council (WGC) statistics released on January 5, 2017, the US tops the list with 8,133.5 tonnes, followed by Germany at 3,377.9 tonnes and Italy at 2,451.8 tonnes. China's gold holding stood at 1,842.6 tonnes and was ranked 6th by the WGC.
Other countries with significant gold reserves include France, Russia, Switzerland and Japan.
India stands 11th with a holding of 557.8 tonnes, while Pakistan has just 64.5 tonnes of gold in the form of reserves. A lot of gold holdings in India are held by households and temples, the two famous being the Venkateswara Swamy Temple (Tirupati Balaji temple) and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
Here we bring you some rare, interesting and weird images of the yellow metal finding its way in many ways, some unthinkable.
On Friday, gold prices closed Rs 400 lower at Rs 29,150 per 10 gm in the Delhi bullion market. Speculation is ride that the Narendra Modi government could reduce import duty on gold from the current 10 percent in the upcoming budget scheduled to be presented on February 1, 2017.
