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 starred Richard Pryor but it was NOT funny.
Well, that explains it. If it was a movie starring anyone but a Caucasian, Igor preferred not to pay money to watch it. I always figured talent was talent, but I wasn’t in charge of the money.
I think Richard Pryor played in a couple of films that weren’t funny.
Aye. Ye deduce correctly.
Although, so much of modern tech is a joke, already; I almost feel as though I’m piling on.
Thank you.
Yayyyy!!!
Hey, y’all. Have a great weekend.
And the same to you!
James, Vlad, and I are working at camp tomorrow, BB range for a change, so I’ll need their help. DP plans to go hiking. Bill is expected, maybe Tom, and he has Frank and Kathleen.
Another perfect squee!!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
How was the Envirothon, yesterday?
I slept in. It’s what I get for not feeling well. Right now I don’t feel much better but I have to go to the library today. I have to mail some things, too and my nitroglycerin is in. It will have to wait, though.
I slept fine. Envirothon went well. Kids knew a lot of facts. James, Vlad, and I ran a BB range this morning. Hot, but everything went well. Now we’ll shower.
I’m glad it went well. I know the byos will always present themselves well, and they always are well prepared. So good for everyone!
I hope your nap with a cat went well. I’m so goofy I’m having a hard time spelling and getting my thoughts straight, so I’ll see you tomorrow!
Have a good night!
You have a good night, too. I’m thinking of putting a few pieces of the desk together. We’ll see what happens!
How far did you get with the desk? I’m so excited to see it put together! ;o]
(It doesn’t take much to keep me happy!)
What a sweet floof!
Good morning.
I hope you had a good night.
I’m not feeling all that great this morning, but I’m still going to try and go to church. I’m supposed to see the bishop after Sacrament Meeting, but I may stay home and reschedule.
Not bad, thanks, and I hope you had a good night, too. We took Bill and Tom out for drinks. I’ll send you a picture of them in a few minutes, as well as the part of the desk I built so far.
Bill has a new job with a financial services company that decided to stop outsourcing its advertising. It will pay more and claims to have fewer hours of work.
I feel somewhat better after the shower, but the jury is still out.
I’ll make the bed and say my prayer and see how I feel when I’ve exerted myself father than knee bends.
*tagline*
Good tagline. Elen, USMC, phoned from Guam. She’s having a good time there, and her career is going really well, but she needed a pep talk regarding a relationship breakup. She said she was sitting on the beach with some of her friends, who were saying, “Yeah, your mother is right! See, that’s what we told you! You need to read the books about narcissists and toxic relationships!”
She plans to extend her tour in Okinawa for a year.
If Elen, USMC needs info about narcissists and toxic relationships, she can always talk to me.
It’s good to have news of her. And there are worse places to extend a tour in.
I’m still debating about church, but I need to make up my mind in about five minutes or forget about going.
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