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See the 'Star of India,' decades after it was nabbed in a heist [NYC]
https://www.livescience.com ^ | JUNE 11, 2021 | By Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer

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 ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; History; Travel
KEYWORDS: allankuhn; aluminium; aluminiumoxide; aluminum; aluminumoxide; bluestarsapphire; chromium; corundum; godsgravesglyphs; heist; iron; jackmurphy; magnesium; murfthesurf; sapphire; srilanka; starofindia; startrekiv; titanium; undead; vanadium
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To: Monkey Face

Garage maybe? My house in Texas had the water heater and breaker box out there. Just a suggestion... Generally, your main dwelling breaker/fuse panels are inside. The exception being the main cut-off/breaker for an AC unit or pool heater/pump.


121 posted on 06/18/2021 7:53:28 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
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To: Dead Corpse

No garage. That would have been the first place I looked. I’ve missed it, somehow, but as I said, I just wanted to make sure he had access to it without wasting a lot of time moving things around to get to it. Boxes full of books are heavy!!


122 posted on 06/18/2021 8:09:50 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: Tax-chick

123 posted on 06/18/2021 8:10:12 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
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To: Monkey Face
I remember all my friends couldn't get enough of Blazing Saddles. For me, Young Frankenstein will always be the quintessential Mel Brooks movie.

Put ... the candle ... back.

124 posted on 06/18/2021 8:18:00 AM PDT by ArGee (This is a tagline. This is only a tagline. Had it been a post, it would have been told to look up.)
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To: Monkey Face

Did you find a fuse box?


125 posted on 06/18/2021 8:18:51 AM PDT by ArGee (This is a tagline. This is only a tagline. Had it been a post, it would have been told to look up.)
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To: ArGee

Yes, and I have that movie as well! LOL! What a hoot!


126 posted on 06/18/2021 8:24:11 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: ArGee

Nothing. As I said. Chuck knows where it is, but if I’ve covered it, I wanted to make sure there were no boxes in his way when he comes to replace the switch. It’s his problem, now!


127 posted on 06/18/2021 8:43:31 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: Monkey Face

My personal library is up to 8 full sized book cases in 3 different rooms of my house.

If I have to move again, I’m hiring movers...


128 posted on 06/18/2021 9:58:26 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
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To: Dead Corpse

Four full-sized book cases, two smaller ones and a mongrel mid-size, extra-wide something that was on freecycle.com. Actually four of the book cases were on freecycle!

Book boxes are heavy, and unless I move into my own place, I won’t be moving again. I’m moving to AR because my son and grandson are there and my son has all the legal permissions. Just in case I don’t live forever, like I’ve planned! ;o]

With the exception of probably the last 15-20 books I’ve purchased, I’ve read them all.


129 posted on 06/18/2021 10:13:35 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: Dead Corpse; Red Badger; ArGee

Thanks, guys, for your help and suggestions! The breaker box is outside!

Chuck won’t be coming today after all. He said he’s been “under a sink for the last two hours,” so I told him we could do this on Monday. He looked relieved.

So two more days of not being able to finish up the packing in the kitchen. But that’s OK. I need the rest, since I don’t dare try to do too much!


130 posted on 06/18/2021 12:23:38 PM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: Monkey Face

Outside?

That would not be allowed here..............


131 posted on 06/18/2021 12:25:11 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Well, yeah, but this is a protected valley right next to Zion National Park, so...


132 posted on 06/18/2021 12:40:15 PM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: Monkey Face; Tax-chick

133 posted on 06/18/2021 2:33:16 PM PDT by null and void ( I doubt that "voters" have any real influence over the process. We already know who counts the vote)
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To: Dead Corpse

Oh, that’s what happened!


134 posted on 06/18/2021 2:34:41 PM PDT by Tax-chick (I found that yelling at my screen did not effect the change I sought.)
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To: null and void

Very amusing.


135 posted on 06/18/2021 2:39:09 PM PDT by Tax-chick (I found that yelling at my screen did not effect the change I sought.)
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To: Tax-chick; dakine; GOPJ; fanfan; ColdOne; Cyber Liberty; null and void; Anoreth; Monkey Face; ...

136 posted on 06/19/2021 2:46:05 AM PDT by Tax-chick (I found that yelling at my screen did not effect the change I sought.)
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To: Tax-chick

Kitteh is sneekin’ up on you!

Good morning.

Did you sleep well last night? I’m sure you’ll take a well deserved NapWithACat today.

How do your legs feel? I hope you’re well rested. Or at least on the way to it.


137 posted on 06/19/2021 3:38:36 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. ~~ )
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To: Monkey Face

*tagline*


138 posted on 06/19/2021 3:49:52 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( I find joy in every day. Not because life is always good but because God is. ~~ Bible Quotes ~~)
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To: Monkey Face

I slept okay. Jake will make sure we nap! Everything is tired, in general, but it could be a lot worse.

Shannon met me at the foot of the stairs to complain, so she’s feeling better!


139 posted on 06/19/2021 4:00:51 AM PDT by Tax-chick (I found that yelling at my screen did not effect the change I sought.)
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To: Tax-chick

I am so glad Shannon is feeling better! What an ordeal! Like a mugging of an old lady.

Does the license plate have to be tweaked?


140 posted on 06/19/2021 4:10:17 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( I find joy in every day. Not because life is always good but because God is. ~~ Bible Quotes ~~)
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