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 very wise. Today’s children are pretty much unadoptable - at least in this country.
Anyway, I’m no longer adopting parents.
See? A perfect fit! ;o]
“It’s cooling off here, and I haven’t seen much in the way of color change on the trees, but there are quite a few leaves on the ground, probably from the drought.”
Sounds like my area, today.
First day in a long stretch that it’s not slated to top 80 degrees. I’m planning to leave the house open and let it air out. The grass is struggling. It’s got sprinkler system problems I haven’t had time to address, and a mower problem in the same column; always more pressing things, it seems.
Going this weekend to pick up my Mother from my Brother’s place. He won’t be home much at all this coming month, and she really ought not be alone for long periods of time. She hasn’t had any real trouble, but the possibility is there. So she’ll be with me for a month.
It’ll be weird because I bought her house, so she’ll be feeling like she’s “at home” the whole time. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
MEANWHILE, truth be known, I need some space, and I would FAR AND AWAY rather be out enjoying the outdoors at one of my favorite places:
https://goo.gl/maps/ypx94KZ1d2dACpeW7
I don’t know if you ever saw a movie called “The Straight Story” about an older man who drove a few hundred miles on his riding lawnmower so he could make peace with his brother. It was a good movie with Jack Lemon as the main character.
Anyway, it opened with him having fallen over in his kitchen and his daughter finding him after some period of time. Sissy Spacek did a great job as the daughter who had some sort of mental disability.
For whatever reason your post reminded me of that movie.
Wow. No, I hadn’t heard of it, before.
A true story or a product of Planet Hollywood?
‘Cuz if it’s true, I’d like to know the brand of riding mower that could A) endure a few hundred road miles, and B) has a seat enabling a rider to endure a few hundred road miles.
Have a blessed weekend, y'all.
Good morning, everyone. I hope you all find a good day when the sun comes up.
Good morning!
Charlie called yesterday. His news made me sad.
I’ll take a shower and then write to him.
Sorry to hear that. Poor old Charlie.
It was based on a true story. I’m sure the mower in the movie was the one that paid for product placement. I don’t know the details of the story it was based on.
There’s some info in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Straight
Have a bucket of kittens.
I found it on YouTube; apparently they have a mechanism where you can “rent” it and watch it like NetFlix.
Cool ‘cuz it’s a Disney, and tons of Disney stuff that was once on Netflix and other platforms has now been sequestered within Disney’s own pay-to-view platform.
Well, I don’t pump my hard-earned into The Tragic Kingdom, so...if I can’t get it OUTSIDE Disney’s castle walls, I can do without it.
It’s worth a watch. There aren’t any explosions in it, though, and only one car crash (that I remember) that happens offscreen. So some menfolk might not be interested.
Happy Burpday Vendome!
Indeed. Many happy returns.
Thanks, ArGee!
Good morning!
Sounds like the schedule is certainly doable!
Good morning. I hope the mood is much lighter with an actual move date.
Help yourself to a double-aught post.
Sorry that you got some bad news yesterday, hope that it wasn't too bad.
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