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 is Thorsday here, too. We might get rain.
I suppose we should go to the library today, too, and also get crickets for the gecko and Frank’s hair cut.
It’s really annoying that nothing is open before 9:00 a.m. I could be finished the whole day already.
Yes, when the second PM left since I joined this group I got a ton of work piled on. Sorting it out takes a little time, then I should be back to normal - or as normal as I ever get.
You can get some cheap crickets by asking a Dem how many Americans were abandoned in Afghanistan.
Ohmystars.
I’m so sorry, but I figured the work load was a pretty heavy one. That is to say, your absence has been noted!
But you’ll get it done. You’re good at what you do. ;o]
You can get crickets and a hair cut at the library?? I need to talk to this one here and see what else they offer!
It feels like it’s going to rain, but the weathersite says only 15% chance, and nothing is showing up on radar, so whatever is giving me the wobblies is a long ways away.
One stop shop! If it had a bar, I’d never leave.
Frank’s hairs is cutzed. Rain has started. Maybe we’ll see about the crickets when it stops.
Yes, I agree! If this one had comfy chairs, it would be hard to walk out of, for sure! I’ll be heading out in about 20 minutes. Not that I want to...
I’ll put the heat wrap on my neck again when I get back and see if it helps a little more.
This morning, I was surprised by a gal from church. I saw her in Walmart and she said she’d come by but I figured it was just so much talk. She was here about 20 minutes, maybe a little more. She was in a good mood but left in a better one! She’s sweet. Too bad she has to stay here!
Sharon just stopped by to bring me a cinnamon roll from last night. They were putting together humanitarian kits for refugees (not in this country) and got 250+ done up. I saw on Facebook this morning that my friend in Salt Lake and her stake put up over 500 of them. Add those figures together for every two stakes in Utah, then times it by 50 and that’s a lot of aid for women, children and families in distressed countries.
Thank you for the cheerful news! Lots of things going to people who need them!
The Church does this about once a year. We can’t put the Church’s name on them because they would be refused, since they’re going into countries with Muslim populations, or other religions that don’t recognize Christ. But we help, any way we can for those who are suffering.
Toiletries and school supplies make up the bulk of the kits, with backpacks and toys.
Oh, well... get yourself a pair of Crocs, or knock-off imitations.
100% hi-density sponge rubber, they’re like the ATV/swamp buggy of shoes.
The strap flips up to permit wearing them as step-in clogs, or down behind your heel for hiking rugged terrain.
They abide wet or dry with indifference, can be worn with our without socks, wash up readily with water, and always cradle your feet and cushion your heels in shock-absorbing comfort.
Pick the right color, and you could seriously wear them nearly anywhere informal.
I keep a pair near the door and shove my feet into them for a trip out to the trash, to the garage, to tend to some yard work, or for a trip to the grocer or hardware store.
For anyone who frequently goes about their home barefoot, or in socks, donning a pair of Crocs is like putting outdoor treads on your feet.
Look into a pair. Highly recommended.
I have a pair of something that I use that way. I think they’re beach or pool-side wear but they’re pretty good.
Except I need some shoe-goo. Part of the sole is pealing away. But it’s all rubber so I should be able to goo it back down.
I wear fake crocks for the pool, for showering at camp, and when I have to go out in ankle-deep water.
I see Walmart is selling them, but I wasn’t tempted enough. I should probably re-think that, though.
The last ones I had were pretty sturdy.
Yup. Their only weaknesses: they haven’t got a lotta tread, they don’t well withstand sharp rocks, and they’re too ventilated to go shuffling around in snow for anything more than a couple of minutes.
I’ve never tried them in icy conditions; they’d be OK for a quick trip to the mailbox in about any weather, but I have no idea how well or poorly they’d grip on an icy walkway.
Yup. Their only weaknesses: they haven’t got a lotta tread, they don’t well withstand sharp rocks, and they’re too ventilated to go shuffling around in snow for anything more than a couple of minutes.
I’ve never tried them in icy conditions; they’d be OK for a quick trip to the mailbox in about any weather, but I have no idea how well or poorly they’d grip on an icy walkway.
AAANND is the Daily Double!
[I have no idea how that happened.]
I hate when that happens!
The Crocs don’t work on ice or on wet smooth sidewalks. But they are, indeed, comfy, so maybe I’ll indulge next time I shop!
“... wet, smooth sidewalks...”
Y’know, that’s a good point: it is unwise to set out with impunity across a patch of wet, smooth-finished concrete in a pair of Crocs. That glass-smooth surface typical of a garage floor... get it wet and traversing it in Crocs is too much like walking on banana peels.
Back from Kathleen’s riding lesson, where it was 79 degrees, according to my phone, and pleasantly breezy.
I’ll get back to making supper in a few minutes.
Well, I had lots of meetings today and a migraine hit that actually caused a minor headache. But Thursday Eve is nearly done.
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