The Holy Gold Shroud of Taun is a mammoth, cultured nation, ruled by Kaykaus with a fair hand, and notable for its complete lack of prisons, keen interest in outer space, and free-roaming dinosaurs. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 8.303 billion Tau are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The medium-sized, corrupt, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Education, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Kaykhshahr. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 49.4%.

The frighteningly efficient Tau economy, worth a remarkable 1,276 trillion Taunis a year, is broadly diversified and dominated by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Retail, and Basket Weaving. Black market activity is notable. Average income is an impressive 153,741 Taunis, with the richest citizens earning 6.4 times as much as the poorest.

The government response to disaster victims starving for bread is "let them eat stale cake", tourists flock to see the giant stone carvings of historical leaders at Mount Rushless, sweet-toothed Tau have been left penniless by the VAT on candy, and it is illegal to distribute Girl Guide Cookies without an advanced food hygiene diploma. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Taun's national animal is the Pallid Bat, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution, and its national religion is Lion of a Moon.

Taun is ranked 6,684^th in the world and 21^st in the Outback for Most Cultured, scoring 135 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.