Factoids from the history channel:
- 3rd most common element
- usually found as aluminum oxide, and very very VERY hard to separate from the oxygen, thus:
- used to be more expensive than gold
- the Washington Monument was capped with aluminum, because at the time, it was one of the most expensive metals we could lay hands on, but not any more
- how to separate from oxide: mix with molten metal, and run GIGANTIC amounts of electricity through it
