"Fool's gold" (pyrite) is nice to look at, but not especially useful. That could change if the findings of a small study hold up. Unexpectedly higher levels of lithium – an element that's in enormous ...

A recent study found that many of the fossils from Germany's Posidonia shale do not get their gleam from pyrite, commonly known as fool's gold, which was long thought to be the source of the shine.

The mineral pyrite was historically nicknamed fool’s gold because of its deceptive resemblance to the real precious metal — gold. The term was often used during the California gold rush in the 1840s ...