That's tsatske from the Yiddish, meaning roughly pretty, shiny stuff that might make you unhappy, but you'd never buy for yourself.

NPR: Shoppers Spent More Than Expected This Season

Angst about government currencies has traditionally sent people flocking to gold, and for many devotees of the shiny stuff, gold remains the one and forever answer.

BBC: Killing off cash: Could new tech mean the end of money?

Although HP comes dangerously close to using too much shiny stuff, it keeps these materials low-key enough that the overall design looks handsome, even if it's not exactly premium.

ENGADGET: HP TouchSmart 610 review

The screen, in particular, is ringed with a wide band of shiny stuff -- it has a subtle metallic sheen if you look closely, but from afar it just looks plain and tacky.

ENGADGET: MSI Slidebook S20 review: MSI's flagship Windows 8 Ultrabook has a flawed design

Silver and copper are smaller markets, but their adherents argue that the industrial demands for the shiny stuff by nations that must build out their infrastructure products such as the fast speed transportation system in China or the ports of India, Thailand another emerging markets clearly suggest a shortage of silver and copper, possibly iron ore as well.

FORBES: Smart Money Is Long Gold, Silver, Copper, Oil And Zero Coupon Treasuries

Of course, it's pretty dang difficult to cram enough technology and precious materials into something this size to ever begin to justify that million dollar price tag, but the supposed Blu-ray, SSD and "full" upgradability specs have all piqued our interest in a theoretical sense -- much more fun than slapping some shiny stuff on the case and calling it good.

ENGADGET: Luvaglio million dollar gets "official," sort of

Like bees to nectar, we are attracted to inventions: output, shiny things, stuff that gets written about in the trade press.

FORBES: Innovation Whac-A-Mole