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 ...
When you wake up, you can tell me all about it! Providing I don’t go to bed early, since I got up early.
The Lawn Guy is finally gone. I don’t know what kind of “lawn” will be at the new place, but it doesn’t matter, as winter is coming. Or what passes for winter in Dogpatch! We’ll see...
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Yeah, that was REALLY scary!
Well, “G’day” from all that’s mortal of me.
Got the motor chugging along, “punkety-punkety” today after a weekend out and back trip to my brother’s place with my two youngest girls. Love and War by turns. I only had gave one off-ramp “lecture” the whole trip. A shrieking backseat conflagration and I hit the exit ramp, and brought it to a (literal) screeching halt, got both bug-eyed offenders outside the car sitting on the curb like arrestees, and stood there in the dirt explaining which way is up in this Universe, and made them work it out.
We had a peaceful evening watching the Pixar movie “Coco” (a super sweet film), over dinner of cole slaw and Cajun linguine.
Mom’s with me for a month (at least). There was a long-term plan, but the short-term situation had Mom sitting around by herself a bit too much, and the longer term version would be worse, not better.
So...recalibrating and noodling up something where her social calendar will actually be satisfyingly populated with people doing things she enjoys.
All the weekend I was gone it had been cooler, but we’re slated to push up into the mid-90’s, today. Ungh. Yes, the heat is typically having it’s last hurrah out here in September, but it’s like it’s gone undefeated all summer long; it’s been one nearly-continuous hurrah.
The one blessing is we’re a coastal climate, so we rarely swelter in it overnight; it typically cools off enough to open the house to the night air, which gets the indoor temperatures down into the low 70’s.
Now back with coffee in-hand trying to make a convincing show of working a job remotely...
Oh, and I DIDN’T even yell at them.
Yaaay me!
Nah, I’m good.
Yay, you!
I wish we got low 70s at night.
Around here, the grass pretty much stops growing for the winter.
I’m proud of you, HK! Not even yelling? Awesome!!
Before they were sat on the curb, did you perp-walk them to said place, from the back of the vehicle? That would have been so fun to watch!!
Good for you, taking your mom in. I hope you all enjoy her stay.
In case you haven’t been following, three weeks from today, we’re loading up the U-Haul and will be heading out the next morning. I’m looking forward to several days with my son, from the 10th until we park in Dogpatch!
I wasn’t in AR for longer than a week at a time in winter, but I DO remember the snow in MO. Oh, boy, do I ever! We lived there three years and the snow was early, often and deep. Not too excited about AR winters, but I’ll deal with them.
One thing is for sure — lawnmowers can’t mow the grass under 8” of snow!
I don’t think you’ll see much snow, either.
I’ve recovered from Student Driver Trauma, for now.
As long as it wasn’t going pocketa-pocketa-queep...
That’s good. I’m having another kind of trauma at the moment, so I’ll just head on down the hall and hope tomorrow is a better day.
I hope you have a good night and that you rest well!
That would be unnerving.
I’m sorry about your other trauma, and I hope it passes soon. I’d give you a Student Driver if it would help.
“Before they were sat on the curb, did you perp-walk them to said place, from the back of the vehicle? That would have been so fun to watch!!”
When I frog-marched the youngest one around to the back of the car, the older one caught the scent of inevitability, and relocated herself without further compulsion.
The drama of the rapid stop, and the faint whiff of burnt rubber hanging in the air presented sufficient gravity to their minds to ground their soaring nasty-tudes.
From there it was The Fundamentals:
1. Keep your hands to yourselves.
2. Keep your tongues behind your teeth.
3. No shouting, shrieking, thrashing, howling, or wailing.
4. Own your mistakes and apologize.
5. Forgive the other person.
6. You’re the only close-aged sisters you’ll ever have; learn how to get along, ‘cuz being old and alone SUCKS.
A Student Driver would be an immense improvement, thanks. :o]
“I wish we got low 70s at night.”
Yes. That was one of the reasons I didn’t make a stronger effort when there was an opportunity to move to Georgia some years back.
Georgia was never high on my list.
Amazingly to the point and Dadified. (Another word for “dignified.”) There are many days when I wish I had had more kids, had kids later than I did or had grandkids living closer.
My wish now is that they can pull themselves closer together because when I’m gone, they will only have each other. The oldest (Son) knows this. The youngest (Daughter) isn’t quite sure, but a visit to Dogpatch may set her mind closer to where it’s supposed to be: The fact that I have now lived most of my life.
Since I’ve lost half my siblings, I know how precious they are.
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