It has value for five reasons:1) Dollars are considered legal tender by the U.S. government for all debts public and private.2) OPEC oil is quoted in dollars, so it creates demand for the U.S. dollar.3) It's the world's reserve currency.4) Everyone in the U.S. is already using it.5) You can't just print them yourself.

No, actually. De Beers hired Edward Bernays to promote their products, and our modern association of diamonds with marriage, love, and sexuality is entirely a result of Bernays' work. Here are some other things Bernays is directly responsible for:

* Women smoking as a symbol of feminine power and equality

* Bacon is a great breakfast food

* Communism is bad and should be feared

* Fluoridated water prevents cavities

* The 1954 Guatemalan coup, a model that is currently being used in the Middle East and the Ukraine.

There are many more. Of particular note is that Goebbels used Bernays' template to generate popular German support for the Holocaust, in a very similar fashion to the way American sentiment is being moved against Muslims.

But the demand for diamonds is purely a result of his paid promotional work for De Beers.