Specific_Success_875 OP t1_isi5x64 wrote on October 16, 2022 at 4:11 AM

Reply to comment by Lemmonjello in TIL that Napoleon once gave an ornately decorated tiara (a crown) to the pope with 3345 precious jewels inlaid into it. This was actually intended to be an insult, as the tiara weighed 18 pounds and was too small to fit on a human head. by Specific_Success_875

It basically is nothing nowadays. Back then a gift costing 179,800 francs is a "fuck you" only affordable by someone as rich and powerful as the Emperor of France.

Nowadays any ruler of a minor country can throw that kind of money around. heck any CEO of a medium-sized company has that kind of money.

The weird thing about inflation is that the amount of wealth in the world has gone up by a lot more than the cost of goods. Looking at luxury items from centuries ago is crazy because a lot of them aren't that expensive when adjusted for inflation.

Specific_Success_875 OP t1_isgvka4 wrote on October 15, 2022 at 10:02 PM

Reply to comment by Godtiermasturbator in TIL that Napoleon once gave an ornately decorated tiara (a crown) to the pope with 3345 precious jewels inlaid into it. This was actually intended to be an insult, as the tiara weighed 18 pounds and was too small to fit on a human head. by Specific_Success_875

It was only around 179,800 Francs in 1805. According to this random inflation calculator online, that's a little over a million US dollars in 2015.

https://www.historicalstatistics.org/Currencyconverter.html

So basically, the cost of a house in the good part of a major American city.

Specific_Success_875 OP t1_isfko3x wrote on October 15, 2022 at 4:29 PM

Reply to comment by Inner-Historian-597 in TIL that Napoleon once gave an ornately decorated tiara (a crown) to the pope with 3345 precious jewels inlaid into it. This was actually intended to be an insult, as the tiara weighed 18 pounds and was too small to fit on a human head. by Specific_Success_875

I don't think I got the first word in whatever this dispute is.

Specific_Success_875 OP t1_isds7av wrote on October 15, 2022 at 4:56 AM

Reply to comment by chrisco125 in TIL that Napoleon once gave an ornately decorated tiara (a crown) to the pope with 3345 precious jewels inlaid into it. This was actually intended to be an insult, as the tiara weighed 18 pounds and was too small to fit on a human head. by Specific_Success_875

I doubt it. He had a big ego and therefore a big head.