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 ...
It’s a little angled. I’ll see what a teenbro with a hammer can do, if any of them makes it out of bed today.
Yep, that’s the car wash for you. Of course, hammering it to the wall would have the same effect without adding any more dents. Maybe. LOL! What am saying?? It’s old and bent!
A certain flatness is require for it to stay on the wall. We shall see.
My next thing is watering the flowerbeds in front.
That went well. There’s a pleasant breeze out front. I might go sit under a tree next, before it gets too hot.
Yes, I realized the flatness quotient before I finished my post, but rather than erase and start over, I decided to duck and run!
Sitting under a tree sounds pleasant.
I just changed the sheets on the bed and took the trash out and now I have a talk to listen to and a jigsaw to put together.
Speaking of putting things together, how’s the Lego set coming along? Are the packets out of the box, yet?
I sat in the shade of the van, instead. I’m thinking about nap, next. Jake won’t care that it’s early.
I haven’t opened the Lego yet. Maybe if we get rain and I can’t go out.
Jake won’t mind an early nap with a hooman, I’m sure.
As far as the Lego, you’re right — a rainy day will be better!
Jake purred for a while and then went in the bathroom to drink from the toilet and then back under the bed. He’s hiding in the cardboard from the outer Lego box. Then I got a phone call, and then I came downstairs and here was Tom. The son.
I can stay awake another couple of hours, though.
My brain was unspooling all the stuff from the last week, like kids with arrow, balloons, and lots of glue.
Maybe that’s why Jake was unsettled — he knew you wouldn’t be napping long. Sixth sense and all that!
Hi, Tom, the son!
I hate when my brain does that unspooling thing. I’m like, “MAKE IT STAHP!”
I’ve been writing a letter, but there seems to be a card in the mail, so unless I write quick, the letter won’t go out until Monday. You probably can’t handle more than one of my epistles, anyway.
It’s hard to believe to Solstice is here (nice job, by the way!) and the year is half over. Already.
I dreamed of Christmas, decorating and I think I was getting dressed to go dancing when the alarm rang. Some navy blue number with a scalloped neckline and short bell sleeves. A color and design I would never wear in real life.
It sounds like you were going dancing in what little girls wear to a Navy Change-of-Command ceremony when they’re expected to be on their best behavior if they want that cake that tastes like cardboard.
Tom and his dad have gone shopping.
I’m sure Jake will help with the Lego once it’s opened. That’s one reason I haven’t opened it yet. Maybe Shannon will help, too. She’s gone back under the table in the sunroom. I think her pain medication knocks her out.
Yes, that Change-of-Command that no one wants except the outgoing officer. And the cake is always perfectly frosted to fool even the most discerning eye. Until one bites into it and realizes they used real bleached confetti in the cake mix.
I’m looking forward to Father’s Day next year so I can actually buy my son something he wants for Father’s Day. A thing I’ve never been able to do as he became a father much later than anyone expected. I think he was 33. And only the one son. So it will be fun to get him something.
Probably the main reason she was given that particular pain killer was to keep her off her paws. Poor baby. Were they pulled out? Any chance of them growing back?
Yes, some were pulled out. The vet says they should grow back. I just talked her into coming out from under the table. Maybe she’ll want to go outside My phone says it’s 93.
Vlad’s certificate from Non-Public Education, showing he’s a legitimate high-school student, came today. We have appointments at the DMV on Tuesday morning. Not the one in Monroe where they’re horrible, a different one.
Musta been a Chinese dog.
It's 98° here, according to the weather beeber, headed for 106°. It's overcast and apparently, a 1% chance of rain. The weather map looks like those big drops that land on the sidewalk, but it spreads over three states. Each one must equal 1%.
Congratulations, Vlad! Yes, I would choose a different DMV as it seems Monroe is doing their best to be non-functional.
I'm having a "Just Crack An Egg" for lunch. This one has potatoes in it. Quite tasty but very filling. It will be followed by a small cup of mandarin orange slices.
After my phone call with Steve - we talked about snakes - I had another nap with Jake. He’s emotionally needed. Also, he’s mad at me because we had beef for supper and I didn’t give it to him.
Tom is cleaning up and playing Asian pop music, which is not very enjoyable.
It’s at least as plausible as me eating too much and not getting enough exercise.
From a psychological standpoint, the cat-tailor theory is certainly more comfortable.
I have a sewing machine and cats, so ...
And getting weirder all the time.
If I took a nap, it would happen at the time of day when, if I’m going to get any thing accomplished, the nap would interfere. So I forego the nap-taking and end up exhausted at the end of the day. But then, even with a nap, I end up exhausted. So never mind. :o|
I’ve never been a fan of snakes, but I understand there are people who have several. I knew when I was taking the vet tech course that I may have to handle them, and I did. The only way to get over your fears is to face them. I hear.
Jake is king!
Happy Father’s Day to DP!
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