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 ...
We make reservations.
Now we’re about to leave. I’ll check in with you later.
There was no such thing as reservations the last time we camped! LOL!
Safe journey!
Oh, good for you, ‘cuz “When your feet hurt, you hurt all over.”
At least, that was the claim made at the end of ads run years back by a podiatrist in SoCal.
Nice, cushy things to goosh around in, and they protect toes from furniture legs, too. May they serve you well.
I have bicycle repair, cabinetry, sheetrock finishing, and perhaps some electrical wiring in view.
The cabinet work is just to add feet to the bottom of a set of shelves. But, BOY, are they heavy! Over 7ft tall with full height glass doors. Be glad to get THAT one outta the way...
Well, you know, neuropathy isn’t good for feeties, so I figured if I got the white ones, I could basically see them in the dark.
My floors are a very dark faux wood, and I’ve hated them since the day I moved in. I can’t tell when they’re dirty, and I don’t always feel up to mopping once a week, and as a result, the floors are dusty. I end up putting dirty feet into clean socks and I don’t like doing that, either. So I figure my nocturnal wanderings from the bedroom to the kitchen and the bathroom will be a lot cleaner for my feety. The Croc-wannabes are easier to put on than the slipper socks I have. So I’m thinking I’ll just keep a pair as a spare. ;o]
And now, I’m heading for bed. Sorta. My “relaxing” part of the bedtime, which consists of studying scriptures for an hour. Then playing some mahjong.
So if you’re around in the morning, I’ll see ya, but there won’t be any kittehs because T-c is unavailable!
Happy snoozes.
Got adjustable feet put on the cabinet on 2x4 stock glued and bracketed underneath.
Suddenly...a dishwasher!
Been through a string of ho-hum (no-hum?) secondhand dishwashers & got one that’s working, but it’s WHITE! The other major appliances are brushed stainless steel, and the countertops are black quartz marble. In fact, the ONLY other thingd in the kitchen that’re white are the dinnerware, the KitchenAid mixer, abd the people doing the cooking.
So, a stainless dishwasher came available and the household strike team went after it, and formal installation will follow.
Well, that’s excellent news!! I hate kitchen appliances that don’t match. But that’s just my own snobbery.
Congratulations on the completion of the cabinet! That must be an immensely satisfying project.
Happy Sunday.
*tagline*
Good morning. All fine here. The sun is just rising. I was thinking of going to church at 7:00, but since I slept in, Ill go at 9:00.
Good morning! The shower took me out of the running, so here I am at last.
Glad to hear from you! (But then, I knew you would arrive safely.)
I hope mass is enjoyable and that your day goes well.
Good morning to you! I always enjoy going to church in a different place. The kids were up late playing Monopoly on Josh’s Nintendo!
Is everyone allowed to post and discuss on these threads, or do I need an invitation or something?
How fun! I was never good at Monopoly. I was never cut-throat enough. But then, I had two intimidating older brothers and an older sister who would beat me up if I didn’t let her have all my stuff.
Church in different places is usually pretty interesting. I like it, anyway.
This is the Undead Thread, so you’re welcome to join us! It’s a general chat, and we move whenever we can find a victim. We’ve been in business in one form or another since June 30, 2004. You can check out the original threads on Nicknamedbob’s home page.
We’re hanging in orbit somewhere in space, in the Flying Castle and it appears there’s no one at the helm these days.
I’ll be glad to add you to my ping list which is very, very low volume, if you would like.
‘Face
Placido Domingo, zzeeman. All are welcome for pleasant chat!
I’m at the beach in South Carolina, and it’s very nice. My Marine Corps daughter called from Okinawa.
Everyone is up except James (who is 17). I guess we’ll need to drive the van to church.
Back from Mass. It’s a big parish here. Now I’m working on laundry and dishes. After lunch, I’ll start a letter to a friend or have a nap. The sun is too much for me this time of day.
Just back from church. I worked on a letter to a friend before I left, so great minds!
I broke the news to a few people and tomorrow, I’ll tell the few who show up here. Right now, I need to relax a bit and prepare myself for tomorrow. Two washing sessions. I don’t know that any packing will get done, but there is always Tuesday!
Your packing is so tiny that it will seem like nothing when your moving crew comes. Please don’t wear yourself out!
I had a long nap. I still feel a bit zombie. Maybe I’ll have a cola.
Sure, being added to your ping list would be great. Thanks.
I will be sure to drop in from time to time if I see something that I can contribute to!!
In Central Texas we are just seeing the first signs of Fall arriving... humidity way down so that even upper 80s in the day time feels comfortable, and been down in the low 60s for a couple of overnights now...
A welcome time of the year!
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