>Does anybody actually use gold? And by use I mean transact actual business, and not just speculate.
The question about gold is more fair. There have been times when actual gold coins were used as currency, and until 1971 the dollar was on a gold standard, meaning dollars gained at least some of their credibility from the fact they could be traded for a fixed amount of gold; i.e. paying in dollars was in effect paying in gold.
But now, no, gold's status as a "currency" is mostly from tradition. Still, it's relatively easy to use and its value is comparatively stable. And people can't just up and make a new one at any time.
Well, in some parts of the world (most notably South Asia, but elsewhere too), gold is used to varying degrees to "transact" marriages, so there's that. I've never seen a wedding ring made of BTC, but that would be an interesting bit of performance art ;)