Posted on 06/11/2021 11:51:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH)
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What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?"
You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which is reopening after a four-year closure on Saturday (June 12). There, one-of-a-kind precious gems appear alongside odd-looking rocks — some of which date to billions of years ago — that have been uniquely warped and twisted by extreme temperatures and pressures.
Individually and together, these objects tell a story of the diverse geologic processes that shape minerals on Earth's surface and deep inside our planet, beginning when the world was young and continuing to this day, museum representatives told Live Science.
Related: 13 mysterious and cursed gemstones
The Star of India, which formed about a billion years ago, was discovered in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known gems in the world, in part because it was famously and brazenly stolen from AMNH in 1964, along with several more of the museum's prized stones, by a pair of thieves named Jack "Murf the Surf" Murphy and Allan Kuhn, Smithsonian reported in 2014, on the heist's 50th anniversary. (The one-of-a-kind sapphire was recovered and went back on display in 1965).
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Jake used to have a girlfriend across the street when Vicki the animal-hoarder lived there. She - the other cat - would come over and lie on the driveway with Jake.
Mrs. ArGee is concerned that my life is going to be very difficult if I don’t get the COVID vaccine. We tend to only get vaccines when we feel the risk is worth it. I believe I could keep from getting COVID by being careful since I manage to avoid the flu every year the same way.
But Mayor Putz - er - de Blasio has decided to try to shed his “worthless” image by making it painful for city employees to not be vaccinated. I’m a consultant with a quai-city agency but I’m sure the rules will apply to me very soon.
Resist as long as possible. :o])
In your situation, that shouldn’t be difficult, because you’re not exposed to various diseases every day like the average worker. I avoided the flu forever because I was (am) pretty much confined to home.
Maybe you’ll be overlooked. Or you could tell them you don’t deserve a vaccine because you’re white.
Actually, if you’re white you can’t do anything right.
But overlooking someone isn’t actually in the cards.
So little traffic here today, so I’ll take myself down the hall. You know where I am if you need me.
:o|
I took the kids to the library. I got some new painting books and a travel guide to Central America, where I am not going.
Floofy kitteh owns da WURLD!
Good morning.
I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I shut the light off and had a minor melt-down last night. I don’t like that.
Anyway, I managed to get 10 hours of sleep and with luck, I’ll get another 10 tonight.
I have two prescriptions to pick up but I was hoping to see the deposit had come in overnight. It didn’t, so I’ll wait to get the prescriptions.
Good morning. Sleep is often the best choice.
Also kittens.
Good morning, all. Happy Humph Day!
Off to the races.
schöner Mittwoch!
I hope your day is a good one!
We will go to Walmart.
I will look at some written words and see if I’m as successful in moving some around and my dear friend is.
But I can do that from where I sit. ;o]
We’re going off to the races in a schooner?
OK. I got the translation.
Nice Wednesday to you, too.
These days any day out of the apartment is a good day. I’d take Wal-mart. I’d even take the gas station although we’re at $3.15 at the cheap places.
Sorry!
It’s just some days, English is so boring.
I just emailed you a thing.
Back from Walmart. Vlad drove. Tom has turned up and is taking James for an adventure, then he’ll take Vlad for more.
My little “ultra-lite” foldable luggage carrier finally gave up the ghost when I went to bring in the water this morning. I’ve been expecting it to go any time. It’s given me a lot of service over the last almost 30 years, but I will need to replace it, or I won’t be able to bring the water into the house except a bottle at a time.
Darned entropy.
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