Why do we need metals?

Metals make up over 80% of all the elements inexistence.

Metals are structurally important (cars, re-bars for building, window frames, kettles, fridges etc etc).

Metals are chemically important. A HUGE variety of very important chemicals contain metals including salt, most precious stones (excluding diamonds) and... well LOADS, I don't know where to start the question baffles me because the answer is so big!

Metals are HUGELY important for life. No iron means no haemoglobin which means oxygen isn't moving round your body. No calcium means no bones. That is before we talk about enzymes, co-enzyme complexes and movement of ions across the cellular membrane (the last being the basis for life itself).

Metals are catalysts and speed up chemical reactions.

Metals give fireworks their bright flashes and vivid colours.

Metals give colour.

No life would be possible as we know it without metals... no magnesium, no photosynthesis, no trapping of the sun's energy and therefore no food chain and no life.

Buildings... concrete... calcium again.

No batteries. Electricity is generated in batteries by the difference in reactivity between two metals.

No electricity. Carbon in the form of graphite can conduct electricity but good luck building a dynamo out of graphite and nonmetal magnets (which I believe do contain metals despite the name but I could be wrong) and good luck building wires out of graphite along with intricate circuit boards and other components.

Gold and silver... no jewellery!

And in school there would be no group 1 and 2 metal demo, no hydrogen popping from the acid/metal reactions and no Thermit! But, of course, there would be no one to watch them!