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 ...
That’s what I’d like to still be doing. Kitteh has the right idea!
Good morning.
I hope you slept well.
I’ve got the slows this morning, but I don’t know what that will mean by 7:00 AM, when I have to start getting ready for church.
For your Department Of Useless Information:
July was the hottest month on record here.
I don’t know how far back the records go, but probably to when the town was established — 1860-something.
Not bad, thanks for asking. Jake seems to be ignoring me. Maybe I’m supposed to feel guilty for leaving him.
I got up at 5:00 because I wasn’t sleeping anymore. The rain has stopped.
Do you know why they named it Hurricane?
Yes, actually!
A company came down here (or up from St George) to survey for building a canal from the Virgin River for irrigation purposes. As the company came to a hill overlooking the valley, a forceful gust of wind came and blew things all over the place.
The Captain of the survey crew looked at his compatriots and said (accordingly, in that dry English style that Brits have,) “Well, that was a right hurricane, wasn’t it?”
So the town was known as “Hurricane” thereafter! (British pronunciation) The tale of it is actually on the wall of the the Lin’s customer service counter. There are names but I don’t recall them.
Next time I go I’ll take a photo of it. I have a Daughters of the Utah Pioneers book (1/2” thick) on the history of the town and when I finally get settled, I’ll send it so you can read it. It’s one of those things that becomes priceless the more that one learns of the history of their ancestors. Yes, some of mine helped to settle this area, as well as Central Utah where I grew up.
Are you recovering from the camp out? I hope you’re feeling better.
Yes, I’ve had two mornings like that this week, back-to-back. It’s just not a good thing for me because it contributes to a crash.
Yes, I’m doing fine, not feeling as old as I was a couple of days ago.
I’m wondering if not taking my vitamins is a factor. I usually don’t bother to take them on campouts: one less thing to worry about.
Good story about Hurricane!
I learned the hard way to take vitamins. My diet is definitely not balanced. I don’t take the time and effort to plan and fix meals as I did when I had a family to cook for. Because it’s easier to either not eat or eat things that I don’t have to fuss with, my diet is sadly lacking in those things that keep my body functioning properly. So I take vitamins. The “Alive” women’s 50+ is what I take because it has no iron in it. My ulcers are no longer chronically active, so I don’t need the iron.
I love the stories about settling the different areas. Most Pioneers barely got their teams unhitched when Brigham sent them to all points of the compass to build towns.
Las Vegas was built by the Mormon Battalion as a supply depot because of the springs there. Most western cities have wide, straight streets because Brigham had a vision of what would be needed in the future. There are a lot of stories about things that most people don’t even think about!
Wide, straight streets are nice for Student Drivers.
I was so used to them that when we got to VA, I had a very difficult time adjusting. I had no idea which was was north and had my husband put a compass in the car. I hate being disoriented!
I felt that way when we moved away from Oklahoma, where everything was flat and square.
Some of the newer subdivisions have winding streets but the main roads are all broad and straight. Easy to expand when the need arises. But yes, I know that feeling only too well! St Charles MO had winding streets, too. Unngh.
Awww...I need that little floof this morning.
Good morning. I hope you had a restful Sunday and that you slept well last night.
The laundry is mostly done, but I had to take a break. Now I’m having the tea, and when I’m done with it, I’ll finish what I was doing.
Kitteh lives in New Zealand.
He grew up into a handsome black cat with just a hint of gray sheen.
Oh, my goodness!!! What a striking change! He’s gorgeous!
I don’t look at pictures of other cats when Jake is around ;-).
LOL!
That reminds me of a T-Shirt I saw once. It said, “Don’t tell ME what kind of day to have!!!”
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